Fire prevention measures for self-storage facilities vital, but costly, industry body says
Proposed solution to the fire risk posed by tightly-packed storage units would use fireproof boards to separate containers
A “win-win solution” for Hong Kong’s self storage industry to meet fire safety standards has been found, but the changes will come at a high cost for some, an industry body said.
The Self Storage Association Asia, which represents about two-thirds of the industry, has agreed to meet the government’s building and fire safety requirements after hiring a fire engineer from consulting firm Arup and a team of surveyors last December.
With fireproof boards to enclose storage clusters, operators can work around meeting two main requirements that operators said were the most difficult to meet: A 2.4-metre separation distance between storage islands and a maximum 50 square metre storage area.
Such alterations would prevent fire from spreading for at least 30 minutes – an essential condition specified by the Fire Services Department.
“Fire safety principles were very difficult for the sustainability for the industry, so it was important to match safety and sustainability in order to meet all stakeholder needs to find a win-win solution,” the body’s executive director Luigi La Tona told the Post.
The proposal will be submitted to the FSD this week. Operators will have to deal with authorities for approval of their modifications on a case by case basis.
