Warehouse Fire Suppression Compliance: Protecting People, Product, And Growth

Sprinkler rules are growth rules in disguise

Most founders think about fire protection when the landlord mentions sprinklers in the lease, or when an inspector shows up with a clipboard. In reality, warehouse fire suppression compliance helps decide what products you can handle, how high you can stack them, and whether carriers and retailers want to work with you.

In the United States, fire protection in warehouses is usually shaped by three big forces. Local fire codes, often based on the International Fire Code. National Fire Protection Association standards, especially NFPA 13 for the installation of sprinkler systems and NFPA 30 for flammable and combustible liquids. And OSHA rules, including the standard on automatic sprinkler systems in 29 CFR 1910.159, which requires systems to be properly designed, maintained, and kept free of obstructions.

On paper, those rules look technical. In real life, they answer a simple question: if something goes wrong, will the building give people a chance to get out and keep the fire small enough for the fire department to win.

Why suppression matters more when products get riskier

A basic apparel warehouse might not feel like a high fire risk. But once you add cartons of lithium batteries, pallets of paint, racks of cardboard, or totes of flammable liquids, the fuel load goes up fast. Fire protection systems and storage plans have to keep up.

Director of Vendor Operations Kay Hillmann sees that shift clearly in hazmat operations. She points out how many everyday products count as hazardous. "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."

Each of those product categories changes what the sprinkler system has to be able to do. Codes based on NFPA 13 look at commodity class, storage height, rack configuration, and whether there are plastics or flammable liquids involved. Higher hazard commodities demand higher density sprinklers, different head types, in-rack sprinklers, or limits on how high you can stack inventory.

When a 3PL tells you they can handle anything, but the sprinkler design in their buildings is built for light hazard storage, that is a red flag. Fire suppression compliance is not something you can fake with a few extra fire extinguishers.

What the standards actually look for

Fire suppression compliance sounds abstract until you break it into the pieces that inspectors and engineers care about.

First, system design. NFPA 13 sets criteria for how sprinkler systems must be designed for different occupancies and storage arrangements. That includes things like sprinkler spacing, K factor, design density, and water supply. You do not need to memorize those terms, but you do need a 3PL whose systems were engineered to match their storage use, not left over from whatever the last tenant did.

Second, water supply and alarms. Sprinklers need enough water at the right pressure when they open. They also need reliable valves, risers, and alarms that notify monitoring centers and fire departments quickly. OSHA rules on automatic sprinklers emphasize proper maintenance and monthly checks to make sure nothing is blocking valves or heads.

Third, clearance and obstructions. Sprinklers cannot do their job if racks, banners, lights, or ductwork block spray patterns. Fire codes and OSHA both require a minimum clearance below sprinkler deflectors, usually 18 inches in rack storage areas, so water can spread properly. That clearance becomes harder to maintain in warehouses where people squeeze every inch out of vertical space.

Fourth, compatibility with storage practices. Fire suppression design is tied to storage height, rack type, and commodity class. If you start storing higher stacks, different packaging, or more plastic totes than the original design allowed, you can quietly move out of compliance. Inspectors look for this drift and may require upgrades or storage changes.

Fifth, special hazards. When you store flammable or combustible liquids, NFPA 30 and local codes may require special rooms, spill control, drainage, foam systems, or sprinklers with higher demand. For lithium batteries and certain hazmat classes, insurers and authorities may ask for extra measures beyond the bare minimum.

How fire suppression shows up in G10 operations

At G10, fire suppression is not a side note. It is part of how they decide which buildings can handle which products and how they explain their capabilities to customers and carriers.

Chief Revenue Officer John Pistone describes what this looks like for high energy batteries. "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. Your insurance is more expensive. Shippers charge you extra to do it."

John is talking about more than paperwork. Those specific sprinkler requirements come from the interplay of NFPA standards, local fire codes, and insurance engineering. A building that is fine for apparel or small electronics may simply not be allowed to store high watt hour batteries above certain heights without major sprinkler upgrades.

Director of Vendor Operations Kay also points out that hazmat storage and shipping are expensive because of these physical requirements. "If something were to happen you need the correct sprinkler systems. You need to be audited, have all the right paperwork, and have the right insurance." Fire suppression compliance is baked into those audits and insurance decisions.

Planning for peaks without overwhelming protection systems

Fire suppression systems are designed for a certain maximum load and storage pattern. If a warehouse pushes well beyond those assumptions during peak season, risk rises.

Director of Operations Holly Woods spends much of her time making sure that does not happen. She describes G10's planning for events like Black Friday and Prime Day. "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."

Part of that preparation is making sure pallets are not stacked into sprinkler clearance, aisles stay open for egress and hose lines, and emergency equipment remains accessible even when the building is full. Fire suppression compliance is not just about pipe sizing. It is about daily discipline in how you use the space.

Holly also mentions G10's use of Zebra robots to cut down on travel distance and strain in the Delavan facility. While robots do not change sprinkler density, they do help keep aisles more controlled and allow better zoning of storage so that higher hazard products can live in areas designed for them.

Systems and data that support compliance

Fire suppression rules live on top of layouts and storage practices. A strong warehouse management system helps keep those practices consistent.

CTO and COO Bryan Wright explains the role of G10's WMS. "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." When you layer fire protection thinking on top of that, the system can control which SKUs are allowed in which zones and restrict storage of certain commodities to areas that match the sprinkler design.

Because Bryan built the WMS and runs the technology team, G10 can update storage logic as product mixes change. If a new customer brings in flammable liquids or higher hazard plastics, the system can be configured so those items only slot into approved locations. That reduces the risk that a busy picker will park a high hazard pallet under sprinklers designed for something much milder.

Director of Operations and Projects Maureen Milligan highlights how G10 pays attention to vendor and retailer requirements in its systems. While that is often about labeling and routing guides, the same mindset applies to fire protection. You cannot meet a retailer's expectations for on time delivery if a fire code issue shuts down a portion of your warehouse.

What founders should ask about fire suppression

If you are evaluating a 3PL or thinking about expanding into hazmat or higher risk products, warehouse fire suppression compliance should be on your checklist.

Ask what design standard the sprinklers in your products' building were designed to. Ask how they classify your products from a fire protection standpoint and whether that classification matches NFPA 13 assumptions. Ask how they maintain sprinkler clearance, keep valves and risers accessible, and integrate fire inspections into operations.

For hazardous materials, ask whether local fire authorities and insurers have approved the storage plan, and how often it gets reviewed. If a provider cannot answer those questions clearly, they may be winging it, even if they have never had a major incident yet.

VP of Customer Experience Joel Malmquist talks about how G10 looks at long term relationships, not just quick wins. He describes asking customers, what channels are you trying to get into and how do you see your business growing. That long view is important for fire protection too. A building that is fine for your current line might not be fine if you add a whole new category of flammables in two years.

Turning compliance into confidence

At first glance, fire suppression compliance looks like a cost center. Sprinkler upgrades, inspections, testing, and maintenance are not cheap. But the alternative is far worse. A single serious fire can destroy product, shut down operations, hurt people, and damage your standing with retailers and carriers.

Kay captures the mindset G10 brings to this work. "We follow regulations and guidelines to a T because we want to make sure that we are doing it legally, correctly, and safely." That attitude shows up in how they handle hazmat, how they use their WMS, and how they treat warehouse infrastructure, including sprinklers.

For brands that want to grow in categories that keep fire marshals up at night, fire suppression compliance is not just a legal box to check. It is part of the foundation that lets you scale without betting the company on luck.

If your product roadmap is getting hotter, whether through batteries, flammables, or higher density storage, talk with G10 about how they match warehouse fire suppression capabilities to real world operations so you can grow with confidence.