Projects in Progress: Manufacturing Facility adds Fire Pump & ESFR Sprinkler System

A national manufacturer of commercial vinyl flooring wanted to expand their manufacturing facility in Madison, Georgia to accommodate additional manufacturing and storage needs. This was in response to increased customer demands of their product. The expansion will soon be completed and ready for operation.

It’s taken the company about two years to figure out the logistics and construction needs of the new space. Fire Systems was able to help this company maintain compliancy while expanding their facility.

In order to increase their local production capabilities, the facility would require additional product storage space which was not available. The company decided to add 65,000 square feet to their manufacturing site to accommodate both manufacturing and storage needs.

The problem is the facility was originally built for manufacturing needs only. This means the overhead fire sprinkler system was designed for this type of occupancy only and did not allow for the finished product to be stored over 12 feet in height.

The company had to modify the overhead sprinkler system to an ESFR (Early Suppression Fast Response) type in order for the building to be classified for storage. Because ESFR systems require additional water pressure, not typically provided by the city water supply, a fire pump would also be required to address the water pressure and supply concerns.

Fire Systems, Inc.was able to assist this company with the new sprinkler system demands based on their type of commodity (product) and necessary storage heights for the finished product. After several meetings with the company, Fire Systems recommended a self-contained fire pump house manufactured by Patterson Pump with a 1500 GPM (gallons per minute) electric pump. The preliminary sprinkler design and hydraulic calculations for the new expansion area were performed and budgetary pricing was presented.

Once the company’s corporate office approved the construction budget, they provided a formal purchase order and Fire Systems updated and finalized the fire pump and sprinkler designs.

As of now, Patterson Pump has delivered the fire pump house that was set in place by crane. Fire Systems is currently installing the underground fire main from the pump house to the building where the new risers will be located. Fire Systems has begun converting the existing building’s sprinkler system to an ESFR system and installation of the new ESFR system for the expansion area is the next step.

Fire Systems and Patterson Pump will perform the fire pump start-up and commissioning upon completion. This will be witnessed by the owners, an FM Global representative, and the local Fire Marshal.

As the company’s fire protection provider for the past five years, Fire Systems worked diligently to ensure the safety and compliancy of this expansion. Fire Systems was already familiar with the company and their needs since inspecting their sprinkler and fire alarm systems for two sister facilities in the area. This long-standing relationship allowed Fire Systems to work with the company in the designing and manufacturing of the facility expansion.

Fire Systems looks forward to conducting annual inspections of the company’s state-of-the-art facilities, which will now include this new addition.

Fire Systems, Inc. is an “all services” company. We do it all. Contact us today at 770-333-7979 or visit our website for more information.