ESSMANN case study
"Fire protection concept for frozen food storage"

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Axiom is a full-service logistics company operating in the frozen food sector. Manufacturers ship their products to Axiom's central warehouse for onward distribution. In order to meet rising demand, a new frozen food storage facility has been constructed in Unna, Germany. The building is 84 m long, 64 m wide and 17 m high.

Project definition

• A fire protection concept for either natural or mechanical smoke and heat extraction had already been incorporated into the design of the building.
• A coherent solution had to be developed for extracting smoke and heat from a total warehouse floor space of around 4300 m² and a volume of around 64,500 m³, based on a warehouse length of 67 m.
• It was especially important for the client that the building shell should be as leak-tight as possible.

ESSMANN solutionThe partial internal pressure prevailing in frozen food storage facilities means that roof openings for a natural smoke and heat extraction system cannot be guaranteed to be entirely leak-tight. The ice that forms on the components of any natural smoke and heat extraction system is not only an indication of thermal bridges; it also raises doubts about whether those components will open properly in the event of a fire! Based on this knowledge and their years of experience, the experts at ESSMANN opted for a mechanical solution. The building was divided into four fire sections. The ESSMANN solution is based on a channel system which extracts any fumes near to their point of origin and conducts them outside. This ensures that any fires that break out can be quickly and efficiently located and dealt with in combination with the on-site fire alarm system and the warehouse sprinkler system, thus protecting the building and the stored goods in the best way possible. ESSMANN’s research team decided to use an ESSMANN flue gas ventilator for smoke and heat extraction purposes, as it performs well even on such large premises. This decision was advantageous for a number of reasons.

Customer benefits

• No need for roof openings: Only one wall opening was needed, which eliminated the need for the 21 roof openings that were originally planned.
• Optimum utilisation of space: The ESSMANN flue gas ventilator was mounted on the outside of the building, thus saving valuable space inside the warehouse. Maintenance work can also be performed without affecting production, since all the relevant equipment can be accessed from the outside.
• Savings on expensive cabling: The system is fed with electricity independently of the operating current, using a separate power supply straight from the provider's point of supply, which eliminated the need for E 30 or E 90 wiring.
• Minimised leakage for the building: The ESSMANN smoke and heat extraction system used in the project has an automatic ISO refrigerated warehouse sliding door with a heated seal at the point where the de-smoking channel in the deep freeze warehouse itself meets the ventilator. This ensures both the reliable opening of the door in the event of a fire and minimum leakage. Automatic ISO refrigerated warehouse sliding door with heated seal. The ESSMANN flue gas ventilator works in conjunction with the channel system to provide optimum 

ResultThe fire protection concept that was designed and implemented using an ESSMANN flue gas ventilator outside the building not only satisfies the client's challenging requirements, it also guarantees that smoke and heat will be extracted properly in the event of a fire for many years to come."