| Case Name |
Fire at a large-scale rack warehouse caused due to ignition of a polyethylene sheet which covered stacked steel cans on a pallet |
| Pictograph |
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| Date |
November 8, 1995 |
| Place |
Yoshimi, Saitama, Japan |
| Location |
Can manufacture factory |
| Overview |
A fire occurred at a large rack warehouse for various steel cans at S factory of T can Co., Ltd. where manufacturing, packing, and storage in the rack warehouse were carried out under computer control, and the warehouse of about 3800 square meters was destroyed by fire. A film made contact with the heater of an infla-packer during maintenance of the infla-packer, which arranged completed cans on a pallet and performed shrink film packaging, and the film ignited. The fire spread after the pallet was stored on a rack, and the warehouse was destroyed by the fire. Although a sprinkler was installed, it was not effective. |
| Incident |
At a factory that produced and stored various steel cans, a fire occurred at the seventh stage of a rack warehouse that stored completed cans. The building had 11 stages. The fire spread over the surface coatings of steel cans and aluminum cans nearby, and the whole warehouse was destroyed by fire. |
| Processing |
Consumption and usage |
| Substance |
Polyethylene, Fig3 |
| Type of Accident |
Fire |
| Sequence |
On November 8th, 1995, at a can manufacturing factory with a large-scale rack warehouse, an inflation film-packing machine (an infla-packer) failed. The infla-packer was repaired, while manufacturing of the cans and automatic conveyance to the rack warehouse were continued. While the infla-packer was being repaired, the heater of the infla-packer and a polyethylene shrink film covering a stack of steel cans on a pallet made contact with each other, and the film ignited. Automatic conveyance was underway, and the ignited pallet was positioned at the seventh stage of the rack warehouse. The fire spread to the whole warehouse. 17 hours were needed to extinguish it.
Infla-packer; an automatic packing machine which stacks produced cans on a pallet, and performs shrink-packaging. |
| Cause |
n usual operation, an infla-packer and a polyethylene film do not contact each other. However, it was proven that a heater and a polyethylene film might contact each other when various factors overlap. For instance, workers adjusted the infla-packer many times before the fire, and the condition of the infla-packer at the time of the accident was not the same as its condition at an appearance test or a field survey. The maximum temperature of the heater section of the infla-packer was over 600 °C, while the ignition temperature of polyethylene is below 340 °C. Polyethylene ignites with a contact time of three seconds or less at a contact temperature of 600 °C or more. It can be considered that the fire broke out with ignition following contact between the can pallet and the heater of the infla-packer during manufacturing of the can pallet and a transfer process to the warehouse, because nothing is considered as a heat source other than the contact. |
| Countermeasures |
Improving a structure and facilities of the machine
Improving an extinguishing system |
| Knowledge Comment |
A rack warehouse, which is not divided into floors and pallets are stacked, is very advantageous for storing cargoes using pallets, and is commonly used. Inside, stacks exceed 10 m in height, and a large-scale warehouse is used for storing. However, fire-extinguishing is very difficult when a fire occurs because it becomes a structure with one space not divided by floors and walls. Prudent consideration is required for equipment and operation. |
| Background |
Although the cause was insufficient attentiveness to hazards during repair, there seemed to be a lack of safety consciousness, because there was no ignition source with full-automation. Moreover, it is speculated that no safety countermeasures were taken against the contact between the heater and the film during maintenance. |
| Incidental Discussion |
Countermeasures for a rack warehouse became a large problem. It is legally a single floor building, but, it can exceed over 10 m in height. Especially, problems of fire extinguishing facilities led to a revision of the Fire protection law. In the U.S.A., it had become a problem five years previous to the accident, and extensive research had been carried out. |
| Reason for Adding to DB |
Widely known fire of a rack warehouse |
| Scenario |
| Primary Scenario
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Carelessness, Insufficient Precaution, Carelessness of Operator, Poor Value Perception, Poor Safety Awareness, Insufficient Recognition of Risk, Usage, Maintenance/Repair, Insufficient Consideration to Working Place, Bad Event, Chemical Phenomenon, Burning, Secondary Damage, External Damage, Fire, Bodily Harm, Death, 3 Person Died, Bodily Harm, Injury, 6 Person Injured, Loss to Organization, Economic Loss, Rack Warehoue Burnt
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| Sources |
Hiki wide Fire-Defense Headquarter. Saitama Prefect., Investigation Report on fire at automated warehouse in the Saitama factory, T. can Co., Ltd. (1996)
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| Number of Deaths |
3 |
| Number of Injuries |
6 |
| Physical Damage |
An automated product warehouse of 3050 square meters was destroyed by fire. A loading station for goods of 750 square meters was damaged by heat and smoke. Manufactured cans, a crane, and a rack were destroyed by fire. |
| Financial Cost |
¥1,585 million (Report in Journal of architecture disaster prevention, No. 256) |
| Multimedia Files |
Fig2.Configuration of 8-stage can pallet
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Fig3.Chemical formula
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| Notes |
It was well known in the U.S.A. for more than five years that a fire at a rack warehouse is difficult to extinguish. FM (Factory Mutual Co.) has done extensive research. Research was also conducted in Japan after this fire, and a revision of the fire protection law related to extinguishing facilities was carried out. |
| Field |
Chemicals and Plants
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| Author |
KOSEKI, Hirosi (National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster)
TAMURA, Masamitsu (Center for Risk Management and Safety Sciences, Yokohama National University)
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