High Pile Storage

When a business owner is storing any materials, from metal components to plastic commodities, there are specific codes that designate how and where the products are permitted need to be stored within a building to minimize fire damage. The International Fire Code, which is now the nationwide code, has established the threshold of when a permit is required for high pile storage.

Any building where the area of High Pile Storage is over 500 square feet, the building is considered high-piled combustible storage and a permit are required to conduct such operations. These code regulations are made to keep employees and business owners safe from hazards that can arise from storing combustible materials in inappropriate ways.

High Pile Storage is defined according to section 202 of the 2016 Edition of the California Fire Code, as “Storage of combustible materials in closely packaged piles or combustible materials on pallets in racks or on shelves where the top of storage is greater than 12 feet in height.

When required by the fire code official, high piled combustible storage also includes certain high-hazard commodities, such as rubber tires, Group A plastics, flammable liquids, empty pallets, and similar products, where the top of storage is higher than 6 feet in height”.

Combustible materials need to be stored in various storage configurations; such as in pallet racks, portable pallet racks, in palletized and solid pile configurations. The storage height is typically determined by the NFPA 13 for the class I – IV and plastic commodities based on the commodity classification and the method in which the customer should store the products.

High piled storage can be a small or severe fire hazard, depending on the combustibility of the materials that are you can store and how compact the storage space is.