Bureau Veritas in Action - Case Histories

Fire & Ice - A Bureau Veritas loss control consultant's knowledge and experience helps prevent potentially severe fire loss.

During a hot July evaluation survey in a cold storage warehouse, a Bureau Veritas consultant arranged for internal visual inspections of the dry sprinkler systems piping. The examination revealed multiple, serious impairment conditions.

Complete ice plugs were found in two separate systems and partial plugs were found in two others. The complete ice plugs could have prevented the in-rack and ceiling sprinkler systems from operating at all, or sounding the alarm, had there been a fire. The partial plugs would have severely restricted the sprinkler discharge, minimizing its effectiveness.

Even though these sprinkler systems were heavily relied upon to protect the building and contents during a fire, they had never before been internally inspected and, as a result, how long the systems were out of service could not be determined. The Bureau Veritas consultant took the time to do a thorough investigation. This is just one instance of loss prevention paying huge rewards.

The Bureau Veritas Insight: Ice plugs usually cannot be detected unless piping is taken down and internally inspected.