1.05 million cubic meters. 35 meter high shelving systems. 117,000 pallet storage spaces: These numbers describe the world’s largest deep-freeze high-bay warehouse, located in Richland, Washington, and OxyReduct®, WAGNER’s active fire prevention system, technology new to the US, protects it.
Preferred Freezer Services is a US provider of cold-storage logistics for the food industry. In July 2015, the company launched their fully automated storage facility. Yearly, this warehouse stores and 900,000 tons of frozen food – mainly French fries. It is unparalleled in size and structural design. Instead of building horizontally, the operator chose a high-rack structure that is a better solution for automated logistics processes. Preferred Freezer also has a leading role in the USA and in opting to use oxygen-reduction fire prevention.
In the United States, conventional sprinkler systems are the go-to solution for fire-fighting, but in facilities with rack systems exceeding 30 meters, sprinklers meets its limits. With high, densely packed racks, there is no guarantee that sprinkler water will reach the source of a fire. Firefighters’ stated that their “ability to counter a potential fire under these conditions was nearly impossible” and typical approaches to fire-fighting could therefore not be applied. A new and different concept had to be implemented and Preferred Freezer chose WAGNER’s OxyReduct® system.
WAGNER installed an OxyReduct® Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) system that was especially adapted to the Richland site’s structural specifications. The system’s principle is based on lowering the air’s oxygen concentration through controlled introduction of nitrogen. The correct oxygen level is determined beforehand on the basis of German VdS (Organization of Property Insurers) approved fire tests. With oxygen reduced to 16 % volume oxygen, fires can neither start nor propagate. The necessary nitrogen is produced on site and on demand with the help of active carbon that is stored in CMS (Carbon Molecular Sieve) tanks. The active carbon binds the oxygen of the compressed air in the CMS tanks and the nitrogen is released into the protected area. Sensors in the OxyControl system monitor the oxygen concentration in the air to ensure that the oxygen concentration in the protected area maintains at the specified level.
With WAGNER’s OxyReduct® system, Preferred Freezer Services gets the peace of mind that fires will not start or spread in their warehouse and operational work flows can continue even in case of emergency – a must to stay ahead in the fast running world of logistics.
Preferred Freezer Services is a US provider of cold-storage logistics for the food industry. In July 2015, the company launched their fully automated storage facility. Yearly, this warehouse stores and 900,000 tons of frozen food – mainly French fries. It is unparalleled in size and structural design. Instead of building horizontally, the operator chose a high-rack structure that is a better solution for automated logistics processes. Preferred Freezer also has a leading role in the USA and in opting to use oxygen-reduction fire prevention.
In the United States, conventional sprinkler systems are the go-to solution for fire-fighting, but in facilities with rack systems exceeding 30 meters, sprinklers meets its limits. With high, densely packed racks, there is no guarantee that sprinkler water will reach the source of a fire. Firefighters’ stated that their “ability to counter a potential fire under these conditions was nearly impossible” and typical approaches to fire-fighting could therefore not be applied. A new and different concept had to be implemented and Preferred Freezer chose WAGNER’s OxyReduct® system.
WAGNER installed an OxyReduct® Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) system that was especially adapted to the Richland site’s structural specifications. The system’s principle is based on lowering the air’s oxygen concentration through controlled introduction of nitrogen. The correct oxygen level is determined beforehand on the basis of German VdS (Organization of Property Insurers) approved fire tests. With oxygen reduced to 16 % volume oxygen, fires can neither start nor propagate. The necessary nitrogen is produced on site and on demand with the help of active carbon that is stored in CMS (Carbon Molecular Sieve) tanks. The active carbon binds the oxygen of the compressed air in the CMS tanks and the nitrogen is released into the protected area. Sensors in the OxyControl system monitor the oxygen concentration in the air to ensure that the oxygen concentration in the protected area maintains at the specified level.
With WAGNER’s OxyReduct® system, Preferred Freezer Services gets the peace of mind that fires will not start or spread in their warehouse and operational work flows can continue even in case of emergency – a must to stay ahead in the fast running world of logistics.
