Warehouse Fire Code Compliance: Keeping Sprinklers, Storage, And SKUs In Sync

Fire code quietly edits every warehouse layout

When you design a warehouse, you might think first about pallet positions, pick paths, and labor. Fire officials think about fuel loads, access routes, sprinkler demand, and how fast a fire might travel. Warehouse fire code compliance shapes every layout decision whether founders notice or not. The International Fire Code, backed by NFPA 13 for sprinklers and NFPA 30 for flammables, acts like an invisible architect. If you ignore it, your growth hits a ceiling long before your sales do.

What fire code expects from a modern warehouse

Fire code wants clear exits, clear aisles, and sprinkler systems designed for the hazard. If you store flammable liquids, aerosols, or high plastic content SKUs, the rules become stricter. NFPA 13 ties allowable storage heights and rack configurations to sprinkler capability. NFPA 30 limits how much flammable or combustible liquid you can store in each control area. The International Fire Code applies those limits to real buildings and real response planning.

Director of Vendor Operations Kay Hillmann sees this every day. "We are certified in all hazardous materials. We were looking at a matches company, that is a hazardous material. We ship concrete sealant, that is hazardous, a different classification. Paint, your everyday paint you get from a home center, that is hazardous material. Flammables, like gas power generators, that is hazardous material. Perfumes, alcohol." Those SKUs change the fire load dramatically.

Sprinklers, storage height, and risk

Sprinklers are designed with assumptions about heat release. If your racks get taller or your products get hotter, you can outgrow your sprinkler design. NFPA 13 places limits on commodity class, packaging type, and rack height. High hazard materials require stronger systems, sometimes in rack sprinklers or denser coverage.

Chief Revenue Officer John Pistone explains one fast moving risk category. "If you have a lithium ion battery that is greater than 300 watt hours, it is considered fully regulated. That means there is special packaging that it has to have. Everybody who touches it has to be certified. You have specific requirements in your warehouses, like the type of sprinkler systems." Fully regulated batteries can bump a warehouse into higher fire code expectations instantly.

Aisles, egress, and real world congestion

Fire code requires unobstructed exits and accessible aisles. That sounds simple until peak season arrives. Overflow pallets shrink aisles, block extinguishers, and push high hazard product into zones that were never designed for it.

Director of Operations Holly Woods explains why G10 plans months ahead. "We have very intensive planning as we get close to a peak timeframe. We run forecast models, staffing models, and we audit inventory, equipment. All of these preparations happen ahead of season just to ensure that we can handle anything that comes our way." Those audits also prevent slow creep into non compliant layouts.

Robots, traffic patterns, and emergency planning

Automation changes how people move. Zebra robots in G10s Delavan facility carry carts through structured lanes so pickers stay within defined zones. Holly says, "They are lowering fatigue on employees. The robot picks a cart up and knows the weights, the dimensions, everything about the products."

Predictable movement simplifies fire code compliance. When robots do the wandering, people do not. Emergency routes stay clearer, and evacuation maps work in real life, not just on paper.

Inventory data as a fire code control system

CTO and COO Bryan Wright describes the backbone behind compliance. "A bad WMS system will not track inventory 100 percent, as it should. A good WMS tracks inventory through the warehouse at every point that you touch it." For fire code, the WMS must identify hazard classes, storage zones, and quantities by control area. Without that data, you do not know when storage limits have been exceeded or when a SKU mix has changed your hazard class.

Because Bryan built the WMS, hazard logic sits inside slotting rules and location permissions. When new flammables arrive, the system knows where they are allowed to go and how much each zone can legally hold.

Why returns, recalls, and damages matter

Returns season increases disorder. A pallet of damaged goods might include flammables, aerosols, or batteries that cannot sit in general storage. If they land in the wrong place, fire code violations appear instantly.

Director of Operations and Projects Maureen Milligan says G10s culture helps catch issues early. "Just because you happen to work in a warehouse does not mean that your idea is not valid." Employees who speak up prevent small compliance mistakes from becoming major hazards.

Emergency response planning and fire code

Fire code expects coordination with local fire departments and accurate information about what is stored on site. Emergency Action Plans under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.38 and Fire Prevention Plans under 1910.39 connect directly to fire code. High hazard products demand tighter procedures, clearer evacuation routes, and better communication tools.

VP of Customer Experience Joel Malmquist ties this to growth. "With an up and coming business, I am going to ask you questions. What channels are you trying to get into. How do you see your business growing. How can we help you get there." Growth into new product lines means new fire code implications.

Questions founders should ask

Ask how a 3PL calculates storage limits for flammables. Ask whether the fire marshal has walked the building when it is full, not just when it is clean. Ask how the WMS connects SKUs to hazard classes. Ask how peak season layout changes are reviewed for compliance.

Fire code as a growth tool

Fire code can feel restrictive, but it forces the discipline that makes scaling possible. Clean aisles, correct storage, accurate data, and predictable movement patterns all reduce risk. They also reduce downtime, insurance issues, and regulatory friction.

Kay sums up the mindset. "We follow regulations and guidelines to a T because we want to make sure that we are doing it legally, correctly, and safely." Applied to fire code, that attitude turns compliance into a foundation for safer, faster expansion.

If your racks are getting taller or your SKU mix is getting hotter, talk with G10 about how warehouse fire code compliance can support long term growth without lighting a fuse under your operation.