What are Pallet Rack Flue Spaces, and Why do you need them?
Flue spaces are clear vertical lines of sight from the floor up to the ceiling within rack storage areas.
There are two types of pallet rack flue space :-
- Longitudinal: these are the spaces between rack rows set perpendicular to the direction of loading. They’re simply the space between two rows of racks.
- Transverse: these flues are the spaces between pallets, and between pallets and uprights, facing the storage aisle.
Poor rack design and overly deep pallet loads
Be certain your pallets and loads are the right size for the depth of your rack.
Well-designed storage systems allow the pallet to hang over the back beam in a double row, and maintain adequate longitudinal flue space between rows.
While the required longitudinal space may depend on local fire regulations, overall height, and relate to the rack’s transverse flue space, the most common space is 6″ between loads, which means that the space between rack uprights has to be greater than that.
Maintaining Flue Spaces
In a standard pallet rack configuration there is normally pallet overhang front and back, and this must be calculated into into the longitudinal flue space. Typical pallet overhang is 3 inches, making your actual required flue space from back to back 12 inches. Row spacers are often installed to produce more precise longitudinal flue spaces.
But even with row spacers, longitudinal flues can be hard to maintain due to pallet “push-through” which is created when a forklift pushes a pallet too far back upon loading, causing the flue width to be shortened. There are ways to prevent push-through, such as installing pallet stop beams, pallet stops, or wire rack guards.
Changing the size of pallets or the way product is stacked in your pallet rack can also infringe on both longitudinal and transverse flue spaces, thus reducing the sprinkler system’s ability to perform as it should in the event of fire. Always be aware of your flue spaces when making changes of this nature.
Maintain vertical alignment of flue spaces as closely as possible. Flue spaces are typically fairly easy to maintain with a little bit of operator training when rack storage is on pallets. However, when items are hand-stacked in racks, these flue spaces become more difficult to maintain; visual cues and even physical stops are often needed to ensure proper flue spaces are provided.
Why are Flue Spaces needed in a Warehouse?
The purpose of flue spaces is to allow vertical fire spread to reach ceiling sprinklers and for sprinkler discharge to reach the warehouse racking without too many obstructions.
Flue spaces are necessary for rack storage arrangements to allow heat from a fire to vent vertically. This allows the ceiling-level sprinklers (and in-rack sprinklers if provided) to operate as quickly as possible, and slows down the horizontal fire spread within the rack.
Flue spaces are also necessary to allow sprinkler water to reach the base of the fire down through the racks. Without enough water reaching the base of a fire on the lower tiers of the racks, the fire may not be controlled.
Unless in-rack sprinklers are provided at every storage tier, transverse flue spaces are always needed in rack storage arrangements regardless of building and storage height.
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Originally published at Flexspace Blog.
