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There are many choices of flammable liquid storage cabinets, some will state they are manufactured to a Health and Safety Executive Guide which allows for a minimum requirement, others are FM approved or EN approved.
Flammable storage cabinets are normally rated by fire resistance in minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, and 90 minutes.
Unlike many parts of the world in the UK (at the time of writing) cabinets for the storage of flammable equipment must meet the requirements of the Highly Flammable and Liquefied Petroleum Gases Regulations 1972 (Section 5 PartD), the Health and Safety Executive Guide HS(G)51 1990 and the Factory Inspectorate Certificate of Approval No 1, Parts 3 & 4. In other words, they must be built to that standard.
However, health and safety organizations and insurance groups have been lobbying for higher minimum standards, more in line with FM approvals and EN standards which have to be built, tested and continually monitored by independent agencies to achieve and maintain ratings.
FM and EN standard cabinets offer a more robust build, extra fire safety features and far more protection against fire. It is expected but not guaranteed that the UK will adopt these minimum standards in the near future.
When choosing a flammable storage cabinet ask yourself, what do you store? Where do you store flammable products and liquids? And how much time do you need to evacuate premises?
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Entry Level Economy Flammable Cabinets
These cabinet are very similar in construction to a good quality filing cabinet but normally have perforated shelves to allow leaking fluids to drop to the base of the cabinet into a sealed sump.
They are all lockable as per the required standard, and must ensure the maximum volume of any flammable liquid with a flash-point of below 32 Degrees Celsius that may be stored in a flame-resistant cabinet within a workroom is 50 Litres, regardless of the total capacity of the storage cabinet.
They are approved, in the UK for the storage of flammable liquids in line with current regulations.
Construction
Single steel skin walls
Liquefied Petroleum Gases Regulations 1972 (Section 5 PartD), the Health and Safety Executive Guide HS(G)51 1990 and the Factory Inspectorate Certificate of Approval No 1, Parts 3 & 4.
Manual lockable doors
Labelling
Fitted with Flammable Liquid Labelling.
Sumps
Shelves are either perforated or sloped and fitted at the lowest level is a leakproof bottom sump
Ventilation
None
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FM (6050) Approved cabinets
An FM (6050) Flammable Storage Cabinet standard includes the option of recognizing any cabinet that has met all the requirements of the latest version of the EN14470 Standard, Part 1 only, with the following stipulations:
The FM certification requires a fire-resistance of 10 minutes for Safety cabinets, according to the heating curve NFPA 251-1969.
The cabinet must pass FM Approval load test per FM Approvals standard 6050;
Flame arrester assemblies must pass the requirements of FM Approvals standard 6050;
A representative from FM Approvals must be present to witness tests in their entirety.
FM cabinets meet the requirements of HSG140, 2015(HSE Safe Use and Handling of Flammable Liquids, 2nd Edition).
FM cabinets exceed the requirements of HSG51, 2015 (HSE Storage of Flammable Liquids in Containers, 3rd Edition).
They must ensure the Internal temperature during a fire test is kept below the auto ignition temperature for the vast majority of flammable liquids.
Construction
They are all built with double skin walls which offer space for insulating air for fire resistance.
The FM certification requires a fire-resistance of 10 minutes for Safety cabinets, according to the heating curve NFPA 251-1969.
All doors are lockable and can be manual doors or self-closing doors with fusible links that close the doors at 74 degrees C
10-minute fire tested at up to 871 degrees C (independent testing)
Labelling
Cabinets must be fitted with its standardized pictograms in accordance with FM standards.
Sumps
Shelves are either perforated or sloped and fitted at the lowest level is a leakproof bottom sump
Ventilation
Dual vents with flame arrestors.
Typically, they also include:
Grounding connections
Adjustable Shelves
Lockable Handles
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EN Approved Cabinets
EN Approved Cabinets
The new European norm came into effect in October 2004 and concerns the storage of flammable products in laboratories. It only concerns the safety cabinets whose internal volume is equivalent or less than 1m3.
In case of fire, a safety cabinet shall insure for at least 15 minutes that the contents of the cabinet do not contribute to any additional risks or spread of fire. A fire safety storage cabinet shall be classified as one of the types listed below:
Our 30 minutes fire resistance cabinets comply with EN 14470-1 and FM 6050 Approval.
Our 60- and 90-minutes fire resistance cabinets comply with EN 14470-1 and FM 6050 and EN 1363-1 fire heating curve approval.
Our Ecosafe 90-minute cabinets are tested for fire resistance to 105 minutes
All EN rated cabinets we sell have succeeded a fire test according to EN 14770-1 (2004) norms. These tests were conducted by an outside laboratory accredited by COFRAC.
Construction
The doors of the cabinet must be fully self-closing from any position. The side and back walls must be of the same thickness and comparable construction. Requirements are given in respect of the construction of the cabinet and its capacity to resist fire conditions from the outside (Fire test given in ISO 834-1 and EN 1363-1).
Typical construction is a combination of steel and melamine or other heat protection insulation.
Sumps
A spill containment sump shall be installed underneath the lowest storage level. The sump shall have a minimum capacity of 10% of the volume of all containers stored in the cabinet, or at least 110% of the volume of the largest single container, whichever is the greater.
Labelling
Cabinets must be fitted with its standardized pictograms in accordance with ISO 3864
Ventilation
Safety Cabinets must have air inlet and outlet as well as a thermo-fuse which seals off the ventilation system in case of fire.
Typically, they also include:
Thermo-Expanding Door Seals
Lockable Cabinets
Earth Strap Connections
Ventilation Ports
Adjustable Shelves.
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In conclusion when choosing a cabinet for the storage of flammable liquids you should where possible consider within your budget:
What degree of flammability are your products?
How exposed are your staff to this risk?
How quickly can you extinguish any fire?
The effect on the rest of your business if a cabinet fire spreads.