Quick answers
What are the common fire risks in a warehouse?
Warehouses combine tall and changing storage, combustible packaging, vehicles, charging equipment, electrical systems and sometimes hazardous chemicals. In US fire-department data, operating equipment was the leading heat source and wood, paper and cardboard the leading first-ignited material.
Why should sprinklers be rechecked when warehouse storage changes?
Protection must match the actual commodity, rack type and maximum storage height. Changing storage height, commodity or rack layout without checking whether sprinkler protection still matches the hazard is a common mistake.
How to reduce fire risk in a warehouse battery charging area?
Separate battery charging, hot work and flammable-liquid operations from combustible storage using locally required controls. Inspect chargers and electrical equipment, isolate damaged items and check the area for ventilation and ignition controls.
What should warehouse workers do if a fire breaks out?
Raise the alarm, call 112 and evacuate immediately by the nearest safe marked exit without collecting stock or belongings. Stay low below smoke, never use a lift, and report to the assembly point for head count.
A modern godown or distribution centre is a big box full of fuel. Cartons, plastic wrap, wooden pallets and stock are stacked high on racks. Forklifts run on batteries that charge overnight. Conveyors, lights and wiring run for long hours. Sometimes there are chemicals too. And what is stored, and how high, keeps changing every season. If you manage a warehouse, or a chain of them, these are the fire risks to watch and what to do about them.
What the numbers tell us
India does not publish fire data for warehouses on their own. NCRB data reported by the States and UTs for 2023, given in a Ministry of Home Affairs answer in Parliament, counts 7,054 fire-accident cases, 6,891 deaths and 284 injured across all kinds of fire accidents. That is the whole country and every type of building, not warehouses alone.
For warehouse-specific patterns we have to look at US data. The NFPA estimates that US fire departments attended an average of 1,544 warehouse structure fires a year from 2020 to 2024, with about $314 million in direct property damage a year. Its report found that:
- operating equipment was the leading source of heat, in 43% of fires;
- electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in 16% of fires;
- processed wood or paper, including cardboard, was the first thing to catch fire in 41% of fires;
- 71% of fires, and 92% of the property damage, happened while the warehouse was occupied and operating;
- fires between midnight and 6 am were only 18% of fires but caused 40% of the property damage, because with fewer staff around they were found later.
These are American figures. The lessons still apply here: machines, wiring and cardboard start most of the trouble, and a fire at night costs the most.
The main risks
- Storage that outgrows the sprinklers. A sprinkler system is designed for a certain type of stock stored to a certain height. Stack plastic goods higher, or add a mezzanine, and the same sprinklers may no longer control a fire.
- Blocked racks and aisles. Stock pushed into the gaps between rack rows, or right up to the sprinkler heads, stops the water reaching the fire.
- Battery charging. Forklift and pallet-truck chargers, and lithium-ion batteries in general, need a separate, ventilated area away from stock.
- Electrical faults. Temporary wiring, overloaded boards, damaged cables and old light fittings high up near stock.
- Hot work. Welding and grinding during repairs, without a permit and a fire watch.
- Rubbish. Loose cartons, shrink wrap and broken pallets piling up near docks and chargers.
- Chemicals. Flammable or reactive goods stored with ordinary stock, without an inventory or safety data sheets.
What you can do
- Have a qualified fire engineer check that your sprinklers match what you store, the rack type and the maximum storage height, and get it checked again whenever these change.
- Keep the required clear space below sprinklers and keep the gaps between racks open.
- Keep exits, fire doors, hose reels, extinguishers and the fire engine approach clear at all times.
- Inspect chargers, panels, conveyors and powered equipment, and take damaged equipment out of use.
- Keep a current chemical list and the safety data sheets where the fire brigade can get them.
- Follow the National Building Code of India 2016 (Part 4), BIS IS 3594:2024 for industrial buildings including warehouses, the DPIIT warehousing standards and your local fire authority’s conditions.
- Train every shift, including night staff and contract workers, and hold evacuation and head-count drills.
- For a large or high-hazard warehouse, share a pre-fire plan with your local fire station.
If you are not sure what protection your warehouse needs, start with an assessment. Your local fire service can tell you what is required, or you can engage a competent fire-safety consultant.
Tomorrow morning, walk one aisle from end to end. Look up at the sprinkler heads and ask whether the stock under them is higher than it was when the system was designed.
What needs attention
- Fire protection in a warehouse cannot stay fixed, because the stock, packaging and rack layout keep changing
- Operating equipment was the leading source of heat in the NFPA data
- Electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in 16% of reported warehouse fires
- Processed wood and paper, including cardboard, was the first thing to catch fire in 41% of fires
- Fires that started in storage areas caused far more than their share of property damage
- Fewer staff at night can delay discovery, even though fewer fires start at night
Controls that reduce risk
- Have a fire-protection professional confirm that the sprinklers match the stock, rack type and maximum storage height
- Keep the required clear space below sprinklers and keep the gaps between racks open
- Inspect chargers, electrical panels, temporary wiring, conveyors and powered equipment, and take damaged items out of use
- Separate battery charging, hot work and flammable liquids from stored goods, using the controls your local rules require
- Keep exits, fire doors, hose reels, extinguishers and the fire brigade's access clear
- Keep a current chemical list and the safety data sheets where they can be reached
- Run evacuation and head-count drills on every shift, including nights and contract workers
- Share a pre-fire plan with the local fire station for large or high-hazard warehouses
Common unsafe practices
- Changing the storage height, the stock or the rack layout without checking that the sprinklers still match the hazard
- Blocking rack gaps, sprinklers, fire doors, alarms, aisles or exits with stock
- Using damaged electrical equipment, or charging batteries carelessly near things that burn
- Letting rubbish, packaging and other fuel pile up
- Storing flammable or reactive chemicals without a list, separation and suitable fire protection
- Relying on extinguishers without an emergency plan, drills and trained workers
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