Outdoor pallet storage remains a key regulatory issue for the wooden pallet industry as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) undertakes its latest round of code revisions. The National Wooden Pallet and Container Association (NWPCA) has submitted a proposed fire code section to the NFPA that would establish a set of procedures for pallet manufacturers and recyclers to help prevent pallet fires and mitigate against their spread.
The core issue is how best to prevent pallet fires and reduce their impact. The fact is that all pallet shops are not created equal, and the current NFPA standards take a rather one-size-fits-all approach. Also, pallets that are sitting idle on a yard are very different than working inventories moving in and out of a pallet manufacturing or repair facility.
The NWPCA is working to address these concerns in its proposal that will be taken up by an NFPA committee in October, when the panel will consider other fire code proposals as well.
The NFPA and another organization, the International Code Council (ICC), publish fire codes that ultimately are adopted — one or the other — by state and local governments.
In the case of the NFPA, it will be well into 2017 before it would finalize the proposed fire code section submitted by the NWPCA.
The current NFPA fire code already contains a section that regulates outdoor storage of idle pallets. However, the NWPCA proposal creates a separate code section for outdoor storage of pallets at pallet manufacturing or recycling facilities.
The NWPCA proposal puts the emphasis on fire prevention instead of burdensome requirements for minimum clearance between stacks of pallets and minimum clearance between stored pallets, other materials, and buildings. For example, pallet companies would be required to maintain a site plan detailing such information as location of utilities, water supplies for firefighting, fire department access routes, designated smoke areas, flammable liquids, and more. Companies also would be required to prepare an approved fire prevention plan that includes preventive maintenance for pallet equipment and inspection, testing and maintenance of fire protection systems. Companies also would be required to train employees in evacuation procedures and to have a security management plan. The proposed code section also allows authorities to make exceptions to requirements related to stacking pallets near property lines or structures if companies take additional fire protection measures.
Pallet manufacturers and recyclers should be exempt from more stringent requirements “because pallets are not idle, nor managed in an idle fashion, at these types of facilities,” wrote William Koffel in a statement accompanying the association’s submission. Koffel is a consultant who worked with the NWPCA to help prepare its submission. The NWPCA proposal can be downloaded from the NFPA website.
“Pallet manufacturers and recyclers have intimate knowledge of their pallet inventory, as it is considered an asset,” added Koffel. “The storage areas are fluid environments where pallets are being moved and replaced on a daily basis. The outdoor storage area of pallet manufacturing and recycling facilities is an active management environment. Personnel are a constant presence within the storage area so that fire hazards can be identified and reported to take immediate corrective action. “
The intent of the new section is to reduce the likelihood of fire at pallet plants through best practices, noted Koffel. In the event of a fire, the measures described in the proposed code that would mitigate the fire spreading to adjoining structures and properties through spacing requirements between pallets, building and property lines.
The NFPA will not take final action on the NWPCA proposal until well into 2017. The committee will review submitted proposals in October, and task groups will review related groups of proposals. Stakeholders who attend may participate with the task groups, which essentially make a recommendation to the full committee. The committee will consider the recommendation and vote on them in the weeks following the meeting. After the voting, the results would be published as a first draft that is open for public comment. The committee goes through a similar review process again, resulting in a second draft. People who object to the second draft may file a notice of intent to file a motion with the NFPA, and a motion would be heard at the NFPA annual meeting and voted on by members. If there are no motions, the second draft goes to the organization’s standards council to be issued in the next edition.
NWPCA officials declined to discuss specifics of their proposal. However, they made it clear what they hope to achieve.
“We want to help improve the code to reduce the threat of fire, mitigate against its spread and decrease the risk to first responders,” said Brad Gething, the NWPCA’s technical and Pallet Design System manager, “yet, is applicable across our diverse industry.”
Storage of pallets is a key issue, he agreed. “That’s really the overall goal — to come up with a code that is acceptable to fire officials and advances shared solutions,” said Gething. But the challenge is that storage yards for pallets may be different from one company to another. “That is our main goal here, to create a code that will work in the best interest of fire code officials and improve and expand on industry best practices.”
An NWPCA task force of eight members worked with Koffel to come up with the proposal. Koffel drafted it, and the task force and board of directors reviewed it prior to submission to the NFPA.
The task force worked to draft one proposed fire code that may be acceptable to both bodies, said Brad — the NFPA and the ICC. “What we’re seeking…is to get broad buy-in and support from fire officials of both entities.”
The NWPCA proposal could be modified even before the NFPA committee meeting in October, indicated Gething. “It’s an ongoing process within the NFPA,” he said.
This is the second time in a few years that the issue of pallet storage has arisen. After the Pallet Profile broke the story in 2013 and alerted the industry to the development of stringent storage standards being developed by the ICC, the NWPCA was successful in turning back that initiative. The NWPCA wanted to work toward greater involvement and collaboration of the pallet industry in the code development process.
The ICC measure that the NWPCA managed to defeat in 2013 would have reduced storage capacity of pallet companies and caused other hindrances. Although it was successful in beating back the overture, the NWPCA had been caught off guard by it, and association officials said they would be more engaged when the ICC began its next code development cycle in early 2015. The ICC’s deadline for draft proposals is January 2016.
