News
Shakeel Woodley
06/25/2025
Wood processes and wood waste can pose a dangerous fire hazard without proper protection. For this reason, lumberyards, agro-industrial, biomass, and woodworking facilities are subject to strict standards surrounding the use of wood products. By understanding the codes surrounding wood products and waste, you can become compliant with national standards and ensure the protection of your business.
The occupancy classification of lumberyards will depend on whether it is primarily being used for manufacturing, processing, or storage of lumber. The storage of wood products would translate to an F-1 or S-1 group rating by the IBC, or a moderate fire hazard. However, there are exceptions that can escalate the severity of risk. As such, fire suppression will be required, so there is an immediate response to the breakout of a fire. Since materials like lumber are highly combustible, they should be treated as latent fire hazards, with a focus on performance-based fire protection systems.
Wood waste generally refers to any wood material that is no longer usable for its intended purpose and is discarded. This may include wood chip, scraps, sawdust, shavings, and scrap lumber from various construction, industrial, landscaping, or manufacturing processes. While it poses a fire hazard, wood waste is a valuable asset for creating new products or energy sources. Consequently, fire safety becomes a priority when it becomes necessary to store large amounts of wood materials for processing.
Wood recycling is the process of taking old wood items and transforming them into useful new resources. First, the wood undergoes a cleaning process to get rid of any foreign objects like nails, screws, or metal. Afterward, it’s chipped into smaller bits, sifted to ensure uniform size, and then finely ground into what’s called wood mulch. This mulch has a couple of great uses: it can be composted to create organic soil amendments, or it can be burned to generate heat and electricity.
Stored organic waste being poured into a warehouse for biomass fuel production
Most people already know that wood can be highly combustible. But, did you know that wood and wood waste products can also cause explosions and deflagrations? When enough wood dust is suspended in the air at a sufficient concentration, a dust explosion may occur. When this happens, the increased surface area of the dust particles rapidly transfers heat and flames to other areas. To be precise, wood waste or dust has an explosion risk when the mean particle size is less than 200 microns. Furthermore, the fine cutting, sanding, sawing, and machining of hardwoods that occurs in wood processing facilities can generate an abundance of wood dust and shavings. Thus, until a dust explosion test demonstrates otherwise, assume that all wood waste is potentially explosive.
Wood waste should be stored in stable piles to prevent the spread of flames should an emergency occur. According to New York Fire Code, your piles shall not exceed 25 ft. in height, 150 ft. in width, and 250 ft. in length. Also, yard storage should not be located under important structures like conveyors. More specifically, your storage should be at least 20 ft. away from these structures horizontally. In addition, piles of wood chips or other wood waste materials should have their internal temperatures monitored and recorded weekly. This oversight ensures that their temperatures don’t reach the point where a fire can suddenly break out.
The NFPA 664 (Now NFPA 660) gives owners the option to use a performance-based design for their fire safety system in lumberyards and facilities with fine particulate matter. It states, “The performance-based design shall be prepared by a person with qualifications acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction.” Moreover, project oversight may be required, since the AHJ has the authority to have an independent third party review the design and provide an evaluation. Typically, lumberyards and wood processing areas will also have two-way hydrants throughout the facility. For all wood products to be stored indoors, they should be protected by a sprinkler system or another approved means of suppression.
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The NFPA 664 is the Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Explosions in Wood Processing and Woodworking Facilities. The last iteration of the NFPA 664 was published in 2020. However, all future updates will now be found in the NFPA 660. And so, now the NFPA 660, Standard for Combustible Dusts and Particulate Solids, covers the requirements for explosion and deflagration hazards. In addition, the latest 2025 edition of this standard consolidates the NFPA 61, 484, 652, 654, 655, and 664. As a result, this standard also covers the prevention of fires in wood processing facilities.
According the the NFPA, there is small particulate matter in the form of sawdust, wood dust, and other debris in facilities that process wood products. And so, dust resistant coverings alongside regular cleanings for industrial devices can prevent the unnecessary spread of dust throughout the facility. These particles can possibly reach under 200 microns, which means that there is an inherent deflagration and dust explosion risk in these environments. For this reason, the NFPA 664 declares that any facility that hasn’t undergone a dust hazard analysis should be considered at-risk for deflagration hazards until testing has proven otherwise. In light of this, if you do have a deflagration risk at your facility, it is important to know how to protect your personnel, structures, silos, and interconnected systems.
This process handles the explosion material’s highest deflagration pressure to ensure that the pressure never exceeds this limit. The vessel’s shape is the key consideration in this process. Some disadvantages to this method is a high initial cost and weight loading on plant structure.
This method works by reducing the oxygen in a sealed space to below combustion levels, accomplished through the introduction of an inert gas like nitrogen or carbon dioxide. However, some disadvantages to this method include the ongoing cost of inert gas, high maintenance, and possible asphyxiation hazard to personnel.
To alleviate pressure from expanding hot deflagration gases within a process component or room, this method employs a specialized panel or vent closure. By discharging these gases into the atmosphere, the deflagration pressure is effectively reduced. The design of this deflagration vent ensures the pressure remains below the vessel’s rupture threshold. Any material or construction that permits the panel to rupture, detach, or swing open from the safeguarded volume may be used for the panel.
This approach utilizes a quick-response flame suppression system that senses and extinguishes a deflagration proactively, averting the creation of destructive pressures. Thus, after a pressure switch or detector has been triggered, the release of the inert gas halts combustion and prevents rupture by stopping the reaction before pressure levels reach too high.
Should a deflagration occur in a dust collector or silo, flame can still travel to connected processes, resulting in severe secondary explosions. Where these interconnections are necessary, you should consider deflagration isolation devices or adequate venting. One effective method is mechanical isolation, such as a suitable rotary airlock valve. Alternatively, chemical isolation involves quickly discharging a chemical extinguishing agent into the connecting pipe or duct.
Effectively managing fire and explosion risks in lumberyards and wood processing facilities is paramount for safety and compliance. Recognizing wood and wood dust as significant fire and deflagration hazards is the first step, necessitating adherence to standards like NFPA 664. By implementing proper wood waste storage practices, utilizing performance-based fire protection systems, and strategically employing explosion prevention methods such as containment, inerting, deflagration venting, suppression, and isolation, facilities can drastically mitigate potential dangers. Prioritizing these measures not only safeguards personnel and property but also ensures business continuity by preventing devastating incidents stemming from combustible wood materials.
If you are wondering how you can secure your wood processing facility, we have professional engineers and technicians that are here to guide you every step of the way. We provide fire alarm system installations, suppression system design, and systems design services for agro-industrial, biomass, and woodworking facilities. FireAlarm.com is a one-stop-shop for everything fire alarms. If you want to learn more about wood waste protection or need a professional consultation, contact us!
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