Astrea Bioseparations planned to establish a new manufacturing and storage facility in Canton, Massachusetts to support the production and storage of biotechnology chromatography column products. The tenant space included manufacturing operations, warehouse storage, and limited hazardous material use associated with the company’s bioprocessing product operations.

Engineering Fire Protection, LLC provided fire protection consulting services to help the client evaluate the existing building systems and develop a practical fire/life safety approach for the new operation involving hazardous material processing. EFP reviewed the proposed inventory, performed commodity classifications, surveyed the existing fire sprinkler system, performed water supply and hydraulic evaluations, and prepared code analysis and fire sprinkler system recommendations to support the proposed manufacturing and storage use.

A major challenge was determining whether the existing sprinkler system could support the client’s proposed storage arrangement without requiring an expensive full-system upgrade. EFP evaluated the existing Ordinary Hazard sprinkler system, the proposed biotechnology products, storage heights, plastic commodity concerns, and flammable liquid storage associated with ethanol use. For higher storage needs, EFP developed a cost-conscious sprinkler modification strategy using in-rack sprinkler protection and horizontal barriers, helping the client increase storage flexibility while minimizing the need for a large fire pump or more extensive sprinkler system reconstruction.

EFP’s work helped the client understand feasible storage limits, hazardous material quantity allowances and operation requirement, and fire protection upgrade options, allowing the new Canton facility to move forward with a clear and practical code compliance strategy.