Pallet and Empty Container Storage

Hazard picture

Idle pallets consist almost entirely of thin, air-exposed wood or plastic, giving them a materially higher heat release rate than the same amount of material in compact form. Because they are often stored inconspicuously at loading docks, exterior walls or building corners, their contribution to fire load is easily underestimated when assessing the actual goods warehouse.

Protection measures

Recognised design guides limit the stack height and footprint of individual pallet piles and require minimum separation both between piles and to buildings, property lines and fences. Outdoor storage is generally preferred over indoor storage provided separation distances are met; where pallets are stored indoors, sprinkler protection sized to the plastic or wood content is required, which can be substantially more demanding than protection for general commodity storage.

Insurance relevance

Pallet piles are among the most frequently overlooked fire loads during risk surveys, even though loss records repeatedly show them as the starting point of major fires that spread to adjacent buildings. Property insurers therefore expect a documented, code-compliant arrangement of the idle pallet area independent of the assessment of the actual goods warehouse.