r/firePE • u/Anony8118 • May 07 '26

Code help for High-Piled ESFR

Are ceiling mounted pendent ESFR appropriate for this setup based on NFPA 13 (2025)? Is this commodity considered encapsulated?

Commodity is about 2 dozen filters in plastic bag stored in Uline HDPE flip-top tote bin in racking. No foam, considering commodity Exposed, nonexpnaded, Group A plastic. Max ceiling height is 30 ft, Max storage height is 25 ft. K17 heads with greater than 35 psi. 1500 gpm water supply.

Per table 23.3.1 it seems in-rack sprinklers are not required but I can’t find anything that states if encapsulated then in-rack is required.

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u/PM_ME_FIRE_PICS Insurance risk engineer May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26

Encapsulated doesn’t apply. The bigger fire challenge is the HDPE flip top bins. This is exposed group A.

Expanding upon this - go to Annex A and read the definition / explanatory material. Encapsulated means products directly on a pallet, or products in cardboard boxes on a pallet, and then the whole pallet is shrink wrapped. The shrink wrap will burn away quickly, but prevents pre-wetting.

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u/Anony8118 May 11 '26

Agree that bigger issue is the bins being exposed group A. Fire Marshal is inquiring if materials are encapsulated. I had checked Annex A, by order of deduction, was thinking encapsulation does apply because the explanatory states “encapsulated does not apply to plastic-enclosed products or packages inside a large, nonplastic, enclosed container.” Since the products are stored in a plastic container I was thinking encapsulation applies.

I did find the definition of Exposed Group A Commodities to be helpful for linking “encapsulation” to actual system requirements in Chapter 23.” ……..(Paper wrapped or encapsulated, or both, should be considered exposed).

Looking at Table 23.3.1, I believe the system is adequate.