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Commodity Classifications in NFPA

13
BY BRIAN O'CONNOR

Commodity classifications are used to categorize the contents of storage

occupancies so that the appropriate sprinkler system design can be
identified. Commodity classifications are determined by not only the product
but also the packaging of that product, the container those packaged
products are in, and even the pallet type. This can get a little complicated, so
I’ll run through a quick example. We have glass jars stored in a double layered
carboard box with cardboard dividers and it is sitting on a reinforced plastic
pallet. Even though the glass jars are only a Class I commodity, the cardboard
box and plastic pallet increases the fuel load so that it should be considered
a Class IV.

Commodity Classifications are broken down into Classes I through IV and

Group A though C plastics with Class I being the lowest hazard level and
Group A expanded plastics being the highest hazard level.

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Class I:

A Class I commodity is defined as a noncombustible product that meets one

of the following criteria:

Placed directly on wood pallets

Placed in single-layer corrugated cardboard boxes, with or without
single-thickness cardboard dividers
Shrink-wrapped or paper-wrapped as a unit load

Class II:

A Class II commodity is defined as a noncombustible product that is in

slatted wooden crates, solid wood boxes, multiple-layered corrugated
cardboard box, or equivalent combustible packaging material.

Class III:

A Class III commodity is defined as a product fashioned from wood, paper,

natural fibers, or Group C plastics with or without cartons, boxes, or crates.

A Class III commodity shall be permitted to contain a limited amount (5

percent or less by weight of nonexpanded plastic or 5 percent or less by
volume of expanded plastic) of Group A or Group B plastics.

Class IV:

A Class IV commodity is defined as a product that meets one of the following

criteria:

1. Constructed partially or totally of Group B plastics

2. Consists of free-flowing Group A plastic materials
3. Cartoned, or within a wooden container, that contains greater than 5
percent and up to 15 percent by weight of Group A nonexpanded plastic
4. Cartoned, or within a wooden container, that contains greater than 5
percent and up to 25 percent by volume of expanded Group A plastics

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5. Cartoned, or within a wooden container, that contains a mix of Group A

expanded and nonexpanded plastics and complies with the graph
section at the end of the blog
6. Exposed, that contains greater than 5 percent and up to 15 percent by
weight of Group A nonexpanded plastic
7. Exposed, that contains a mix of Group A expanded and nonexpanded
plastics and complies with the graph section at the end of the blog

Classifications for Storage of Non-Plastic Commodities in …

Watch a related video from the NFPA LiNK® YouTube channel on non-plastic commodity
classification in NFPA 13.

PLASTICS

Plastics are a little more straightforward since there is a specific list of what
each group contains. Classifying plastics gets complicated when the
commodity being stored is a combination of different groups of plastics, but
the graphs at the end of this blog should be able to help alleviate some of
that work.

Group C Plastics: Group C plastics are treated as Class III Commodities and
consist of the following:

Fluoroplastics (PCTFE — polychlorotrifluoroethylene; PTFE —

polytetrafluoroethylene)
Melamine (melamine formaldehyde)
Phenolic
PVC (polyvinyl chloride — flexible — PVCs with plasticizer content up to
20 percent)
PVDC (polyvinylidene chloride)
PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride)
Urea (urea formaldehyde)

Group B Plastics: Group B plastics are treated as Class IV Commodities and

consist of the following:

Chloroprene rubber
Fluoroplastics (ECTFE — ethylene-chlorotrifluoro-ethylene copolymer;
ETFE — ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene-copolymer; FEP — fluorinated
ethylene-propylene copolymer)
Silicone rubber

Group A Plastic: Group A plastics are further subdivided into expanded and
nonexpanded Group A plastics and consist of all of the plastics listed in the
table below.

ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer)

FRP (fiberglass-reinforced polyester)

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Polycarbonate
PVC (polyvinyl chloride — highly plasticized, with plasticizer content
greater than 20 percent) (rarely found)
Acetal (polyformaldehyde)
Natural rubber
Polyester elastomer
Acrylic (polymethyl methacrylate)
Nitrile-rubber (acrylonitrile-butadiene-rubber)
Polyethylene
Butyl rubber
Nylon (nylon 6, nylon 6/6)
Polypropylene
PVF (polyvinyl fluoride)
Cellulosics (cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, ethyl
cellulose)
PET (thermoplastic polyester)
Polystyrene
SAN (styrene acrylonitrile)
EPDM (ethylene-propylene rubber)
Polybutadiene
Polyurethane
SBR (styrene-butadiene rubber)

HELPFUL DEFINITIONS

One of the biggest issues I see when people are starting to learn about
sprinkler design for storage occupancies is that they don’t know the
terminology. It is important to fully understand the definitions for the terms
used in the storage chapters of NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of
Sprinkler Systems. I recommend looking at the definition chapter of NFPA 13
to make sure you understand exactly what a term means because oftentimes
it means something different than what you would expect. Here are a couple
of definitions that are important to understanding this blog.

Expanded Group A Plastics: Those plastics, the density of which is reduced

by the presence of air pockets dispersed throughout their mass. Some
examples include packing peanuts or acoustic foam. Nonexpanded is
everything else that is not covered under the definition of expanded.

Free Flowing Group A Plastics (protect as Class IV): Those plastics that fall
out of their containers during a fire, fill flue spaces, and create a smothering
effect on the fire. Examples include powder, pellets, flakes or random-packed
small objects.

Free flowing plastics are those small objects that fill a box or a subdivision
within the box without restraint. The theory is that during a fire. The objects
will freely fall out of the box and either smother the fire or fall away from it,
removing themselves as fuel. Since the burning rate is reduced and fuel load
has been lessened, free-flowing plastics are permitted to be treated as a
Class IV commodity.

Exposed: Commodities not in packaging or coverings that absorb water. For

example, a cardboard box or wooden container can both absorb water so
they would not be considered exposed. However, something that is wrapped
in plastic sheeting could be considered exposed since plastic sheeting
doesn’t absorb water.

Cartoned - A method of storage consisting of corrugated cardboard or

paperboard containers fully enclosing the commodity.

GRAPHS

The following tables come from NFPA 13 to help with navigating how a
commodity should be classified when it contains Group A plastics. Note that
the X axis is percentage by volume while the Y axis is percentage be weight.

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The first graph addresses exposed commodities while the second graph
addresses commodities that are cartoned or within a wooden container (non-
exposed).

PALLETS

When commodities are tested, they are tested on wooden pallets. This
means that wooden pallets are assumed to be used in commodity
classifications, however if plastic pallets are used, they increase the
commodity classification by two classes. Although, if the plastic pallet is
made of polypropylene or high-density polyethylene and marked as
“nonreinforced” then the commodity classification only needs to be increased
by one classification.

Plastic Pallet Increase (+2)

Class I --> Class III

Class II --> Class IV
Class III --> Group A Plastics
Class IV --> Cartoned nonexpanded Group A plastic
Group A Plastics --> Group A Plastics (No increase)

Unreinforced Polypropylene or High-Density Polyethylene Plastic Pallet

Increase (+1)

Class I --> Class II

Class II --> Class III
Class III --> Class IV
Class IV --> Cartoned nonexpanded Group A plastic
Group A Plastics --> Group A Plastics (No increase)

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How Pallets Affect Classifications for Storage Protection in…

in…

Watch a related video from the NFPA LiNK® YouTube channel on how pallet types can
influence commodity classification in NFPA 13.

Determining the classification for commodities in storage occupancies can

get complicated at times but I can not stress how important of a step this is
during the sprinkler design process. It is also imperative that the owner
understands what the building is designed to handle as well as what can and
can not be stored in the facility once it is built. I hope you enjoyed the blog.
Comment below if you have questions and be sure to share this with friends
and colleagues who might find it helpful.

Important Notice: Any opinion expressed in this column (blog, article) is the opinion of the author and
does not necessarily represent the official position of NFPA or its Technical Committees. In addition,
this piece is neither intended, nor should it be relied upon, to provide professional consultation or
services.

TOPICS: Fire Protection Systems, Code Enforcement, Industrial Hazards

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BRIAN O'CONNOR
Technical Services Engineer

READ MORE BY BRIAN O'CONNOR

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21 Comments 19 ONLINE Sort By Best

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Eelco Westerveld 21 days ago

E
Hello Brian, is there a same sort of conversion availebel for Flammable and
combustible liquids?
Reply 0 0

Ali Jafer Ahmed Musabih 2 months ago

A
Hi Brian,

Thank you for the article. It is really helpful.

I have one question that is confusing me a lot. You said in the article that there
are two categories of classification: Class I to Class IV for non-plastic
commodities, and Group A to Group C for plastic commodities. You also said
that Group C plastics can be equivalent to Class III commodities, and Group B
plastics can be equivalent to Class IV commodities. My question is: if my storage
consists of only Group B plastics, how should I classify it? Should I use the Group
B classification or the Class IV classification? Or should I use the Group B
classification but apply the requirements for Class IV commodities?
Reply 0 0

spica 3 months ago

s
Hi really nice article is given by you explained very well and proper explanation
with image. i got a lot of idea from this post thanks for sharing the post and
keep tough with us
https://spica.net.in/
Reply 0 0

Steven 6 months ago

S
Hi Brian great details here. We are looking at storing blow mold plastic food
grade bottles (think Yourt drink bottles) for a customer. We are having a hard
time finding sprinkler requirements. These would all be palletized on reinforced
plastic pallets and shrink wrapped.
Reply 0 0

Brian o'connor 6 months ago

B
Hey Steven, unfortunately I can't determine commodity classification in any
particular scenario but check the type of plastic and how it is stored.
Chapter 20 in NFPA 13 should be able to help.
Reply 0 0

Federico 9 months ago

F
Good afternoon Brian, looking at your presentation here above, I'm wondering if
a noncombustible product inside multiple-layered corrugated cardboard box (so
a Class II commodity according to the definition above) is still a Class II
commodity if it is also shrink-wrapped with plastic film as a unit load. Thank you,
Federico
Reply 0 0

Brian o'connor 8 months ago

B
Check out the definition for "Exposed" and "Encapsulated" in NFPA 13.
Depending on how it is shrink wrapped it could be considered
encapsulated and exposed, which could affect how you protect your
warehouse.
Reply 0 0
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9/14/23, 11:53 AM Commodity Classifications in NFPA 13 | NFPA | NFPA
y 0 0

Federico 1 year ago

F
Hi Brian. I've a question for you. How should I consider synthetic and natural
fabric cloths inside plastic bags, cartoned on pallet and wrapped with plastic film
in a double row rack storage configuration? Group A plastics cartoned
nonexpanded or Group A plastics Exposed nonexpanded? thank you Federico
Reply 0 0

Brian o'connor 1 year ago

B
Dear Federico, thank you for your question but unfortunately NFPA can not
help anyone determine commodity classification for their specific
installations. This is an important decision that should be made by the
engineer of record.
Reply 0 0

Quentin Yarbrough 1 year ago

Q
Good afternoon. I'm having a bit of trouble clearly defining a pallet of empty
800ml bottles that are packaged 50 each into a cardboard box and 20 boxes per
pallet. Would that be cartoned-expanded-group A plastic?
Reply 0 0

Brian o'connor 1 year ago

B
Hey Quentin, thanks for your comment but unfortunately NFPA can not
help anyone specify their commodity. Determining commodity
classification is an important engineering decision that must be made on a
case by base basis.
Reply 0 0

gokce koc 1 year ago

g
The storage area is not requiring Sprinkler Protection as per area limit of
NFPA5000. Shoul i still check the sprinkler requirement as per commodity class?
Reply 0 0

Rahul 1 year ago

R
It is also imperative that the owner understands what the building is designed to
handle as well as what can and can not be stored in the facility once it is built.
Demat Account Charges
Reply 0 0

Brian o'connor 1 year ago

B
Rahul, I agree, communication and understanding of all fire and life safety
building features is essential for owners and occupants.
Reply 0 0

David Rakovsky 1 year ago

D
Brian, thanks for publishing this really helpful article. I am trying to understand
the commodities I have in my building. The products we store are electronic
parts like battery chargers and power cords. All of the products are using fire-
retardant plastics. While they mostly appear in the Group A list, I don't see any
consideration for their fire rating. i.e. We may use ABS or Polycarbonate but they
are rated UL 94V0 (per UL94: Burning stops within 10 seconds on a vertical part
allowing for drops of plastic that are not inflames.) and we use PVC in power
cords but it's VW-1 (VW-1 is a rating from UL1581 for Standard for Vertical Flame
Test)). So, does the NFPA13 totally disregard the fire ratings of plastics? I feel the
fire rating should allow to lower the hazard classification as the plastics have self
extinguishing properties of varying degrees. Can you shed light on it? thanks!!
Reply 0 0

Nathan Logan 1 year ago

N
Great overview of commodity classification and impact on sprinkler design.
Encapsulation is another factor to add that can be overlooked and impact the
system design. The decision to encapsulate product may not have been a
consideration at the time of design but decided later due to business necessity
or customer requirements
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or customer requirements.

I am interested to know if the small reusable plastic totes being used more and
more in industry for parts shipment should be categorized as if a plastic pallet
was in use? Or as an exposed Group A? Is there any performance data or fire
testing available?
Reply 0 0

Brian o'connor 1 year ago

B
Hey Nathan, thanks for your comment. NFPA 13 doesn't specifically
address the use of plastic totes. They should be treated as part of the
commodity being stored and the overall classification should be adjusted
accordingly. The use of plastic totes (at least the ones I am thinking of)
seem to fit the definition of exposed since they don't typically absorb
water.
Reply 0 0

Dwight Havens 1 year ago

D
Excellent review of how NFPA 13 classifies commodities for sprinkler design. I
agree with Diaaeldin Mostafa's comment and your response to that comment, as
ll "I i l i i h h d d h h

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