Fire protection water storage is often discussed in terms of one requirement – capacity. How much water is needed? What volume must be available to support the fire suppression system? What does NFPA 22 require?
Those questions are essential but they are only part of the engineering challenge. In practice, a fire protection tank must also respond to the conditions of the site around it. Available footprint, building constraints, seismic requirements, foundation design, construction access, local engineering criteria and installation schedules can all have a direct influence on the final solution.
A recent SBS Tanks installation in Chester, New York illustrates exactly why this broader approach matters.
For the Chester factory/warehouse project, SBS Tanks (www.sbstanksusa.com) was commissioned to provide a value-engineered, NFPA 22-compliant fire protection water tank capable of storing 130,500 gallons while fitting within a significantly constrained indoor space.
The solution selected was a ST12R09 tank from the SBS Tanks ST range (Standard Water Tank Range – SBS USA), measuring just 26’10” in diameter with a height of 30’10”. This tall, relatively narrow configuration provided the required fire protection capacity while minimizing the amount of valuable floor space occupied by the tank.
The result demonstrates a principle that is increasingly important across U.S. commercial and industrial developments: effective fire protection water storage is not simply about supplying the required gallons. It is about engineering the tank for the project, the environment and the space available.
Industrial and warehouse facilities are under increasing pressure to make efficient use of every square foot.
Production areas, storage, loading zones, utilities, access routes, fire pumps and other essential infrastructure must all compete for available space. When a large fire protection tank is required within an existing or predetermined building footprint, simply increasing tank diameter may not be an option.
That was a defining challenge in Chester. The project required a 130,500-gallon fire protection reserve inside a confined indoor area. With a diameter of only 26’10” and a wall height of 30’10”, the ST12R09 provided a vertically optimized configuration, allowing the necessary capacity to be achieved while minimizing the amount of floor space occupied by the tank.
The project brief specifically identified the limited footprint and vertical optimization as key engineering considerations.
This approach builds on a broader principle SBS Tanks has applied across fire protection projects in the United States. Its modular tank system allows capacity to be achieved through different combinations of diameter and height, giving engineers greater flexibility where land or internal building space is constrained.
For the Chester installation, however, footprint was only one part of the design equation.
New York is not generally the first state associated with seismic design yet earthquake risk is not limited to the western United States.
Structures in many parts of the Northeast can still be subject to seismic design requirements depending on local conditions, building codes, occupancy and engineering criteria. For fire protection infrastructure, this becomes particularly important because the tank must remain structurally reliable and capable of supporting the fire suppression system when needed.
SBS Tanks engineering team reviewed the seismic conditions applicable to the Chester location and incorporated those requirements into the tank design. Importantly, the engineering work did not stop at the tank itself.
The foundation was also designed with the project’s seismic requirements in mind, ensuring that the structural system worked as an integrated whole. The completed design was then reviewed by an independent New York State-licensed professional engineer to confirm compliance and suitability for the specific application and location.
That independent review is a significant part of the process. Fire protection tanks are not isolated pieces of equipment. Their performance depends on the interaction between the tank, foundation, connections, anchoring, surrounding structure and associated fire protection system.
NFPA 22 – the Standard for Water Tanks for Private Fire Protection – establishes requirements relating to tanks supplying water for private fire protection systems. SBS Tanks U.S. fire protection range (NFPA 22 FIRE PROTECTION WATER TANKS – SBS USA) is specifically positioned for NFPA 22 applications and has been used across commercial and industrial projects where a dependable private fire water reserve is required.
Projects such as Chester demonstrate why those requirements must ultimately be considered alongside the conditions of the specific site.
It is relatively straightforward to discuss NFPA 22 compliance in isolation. The reality of construction is more complicated. On a live project, fire protection requirements must coexist with building geometry, structural loads, local code requirements, mechanical services, access restrictions, foundations and construction sequencing.
For the Chester project, SBS Tanks had to satisfy three distinct requirements simultaneously:
The value of the final solution came from resolving those requirements together rather than treating them as separate design exercises. SBS Tanks has more than two decades of experience supplying tanks for fire protection applications internationally, with its U.S. fire protection offering covering projects from smaller storage requirements through to large-scale industrial systems. The Chester installation is a strong example of how that experience can be translated into a project-specific solution.
Complex engineering does not necessarily require a complex installation. Once the design, approvals and foundation requirements were resolved, the Chester tank installation was completed in six days. A key part of SBS Tanks’ installation methodology is its specialized jacking system. Rather than erecting the tank progressively at full height using conventional cranes and extensive scaffolding, the roof and upper ring of the tank are assembled at ground level. Jacks positioned around the tank perimeter then raise the structure in controlled increments, allowing each subsequent ring of steel panels to be installed beneath it.
This top-down construction method keeps much of the installation work close to ground level. The system can reduce reliance on conventional cranes and scaffolding while helping to reduce work-at-height exposure and simplify site logistics. Those advantages were particularly relevant in Chester. Installing a tank with a 30’10” wall height inside a confined building meant that access and working space were already restricted. A construction methodology that minimized the need for large lifting equipment and allowed the tank to grow vertically within its designated 26’10” diameter footprint provided a practical advantage during installation.
The jacking system also supports efficient construction sequencing. As the tank is raised, additional panel rings can be bolted into place and the installation can progress systematically from the top of the structure downward.
For Chester, the complete six-day installation program demonstrated how modular construction and the jacking methodology can complement detailed engineering. The project met the customer’s expectations regarding engineering compliance, installation timing and site requirements.
The Chester project also highlights the flexibility of the SBS Tanks ST range. The ST range is designed for commercial and industrial water storage applications including fire protection, with multiple combinations of diameter, height and capacity allowing a solution to be configured around individual project requirements.
In Chester, the ST12R09 provided the required 130,500-gallon project capacity within a 26’10” diameter footprint and 30’10” wall height while also addressing the seismic engineering requirements of the project.
That versatility matters because no two fire protection sites are identical. A coastal facility may require enhanced wind engineering. A cold-climate project may introduce freeze-protection considerations. Seismic conditions may require structural and foundation modifications. An urban or indoor development may be constrained primarily by available footprint. The tank model may be standardized but the engineering surrounding it cannot be.
The Chester installation ultimately achieved exactly what the project required: a dedicated, NFPA 22-compliant fire protection water supply engineered for seismic conditions and vertically optimized to fit within a significantly constrained indoor space. That outcome is important beyond this single project. Across the United States, industrial buildings, warehouses, distribution centers, data centers, manufacturing facilities and commercial developments increasingly require infrastructure to work within specific physical and operational constraints.
Fire protection water storage must respond accordingly. The most effective solution is not always the largest tank, the widest tank or the most conventional tank. It is the tank that has been engineered around the realities of the project. For Chester, New York that meant combining 130,500 gallons of fire protection storage within a 26’10” diameter footprint, vertical optimization, seismic engineering, foundation design, NFPA 22 compliance, independent professional engineering review, SBS Tanks’ jacking installation methodology and an efficient six-day installation into one integrated solution.
Ultimately, that is what effective fire protection water storage engineering should achieve: not simply storing enough water but ensuring that the storage system is designed, engineered and installed to perform within the environment where it is actually needed.
SBS Tanks designs and manufactures modular steel water storage solutions for fire protection, commercial, industrial, utility, agricultural and rainwater harvesting applications. With more than 25 years of international experience, SBS Tanks provides engineered storage solutions across a wide range of capacities and site conditions.
Its ST and CY ranges combine modular construction, corrosion-resistant steel panels, purpose-designed liner systems, project-specific engineering and a specialized jacking installation methodology to support demanding water storage requirements across the United States and internationally.
For more information, visit www.sbstanksusa.com
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