Above ground external concrete water storage tanks used for extinguishing fires
Concrete is ideal for use as a fire fighting water storage tank since it cannot be set on fire. Due to its non-combustible materials – cement, water, and aggregates – it doesn’t emit toxic fumes or produce smoke, so is known as having a high degree of fire resistance. Also, it doesn’t drop molten particles when exposed to fire – something that occurs with plastics and metals. Concrete has a slow rate of heat transfer so it acts as an effective fire shield between adjacent spaces, plus it protects reinforcing bars and internal concrete from damage.
Our concrete tanks are manufactured to the AS3600 concrete structures specifications and designed to withstand exposure classifications B1, B2 and C as per AS3735-2001 concrete liquid retaining structures standards. We use a high strength concrete cured to 72mpa in 28days.
The longer concrete cures, the less water is retained in the walls of a concrete structure. There’s also less chance for spalling from direct heat, since fire-induced spalling can occur in concrete with high water content. Our concrete fire fighting water tanks have a glass-like finish internally and externally, with little to no air entrapment in the walls. This ensures there is no opportunity for moisture to reside in the walls, giving the concrete more resilience to radiant heat.
Our tanks can come equipped with Vortex inhibitors, suction connections, access in tank lids, and galvanised step irons installed to the specifications as per AS1657, or we can follow your engineer’s specifications.
They are manufactured as per AS 2419.1-2005.
Installation
Our above ground tanks at 22500 litre capacity can be interlinked together or stand alone, placed side by side or end to end. Our concrete fire tanks do not need to be installed on a concrete base. However if this is the design, our tanks can be placed on a slab and it will only need a 100mm thick level sand bed or crusher base.
Our tanks weigh 11.7 ton and their external dimensions are 2400mm wide x 2600mm high x 4400mm long. The lid has a 5kpa load rating.
The fire fighting tanks are delivered via a semi trailer approx. 19m long. This is due to the weight of the tank. Two of these tanks can fit on a standard semi trailer.
