Fire Protection Of Fuel Oil Storage Tanks

[Sumair0994]

I have been given the task of designing a fire protection system for fixed roof fuel oil storage tanks. Tank details are as follows:

Diameter = 58 m
Height = 13 m
Product = Fuel Oil (Class III)
Flashpoint = 70 C and above

Going through several forums, I have observed that in industrial practice for tanks storing liquids having flash point greater than 100 C use of foam system is often not recommended due to danger of boil over, standards such as IP-19 also give vague hints of such practice. Following are my queries for this scenario:

i) whether i should install a fixed foam system?
ii) if no foam system is to be used what other alternative is to be used for fire protection/extinguishment?
iii) if water is to be used for control of burning/extinguishment, what application rates and to which surfaces should the water be applied to (roof surface, shell surface or both)?

I have already studied several standards such as NFPA 30, NFPA 15, IP-19, API 2021, API 2030 but they only provide vague hints in such scenario. So any expert advice would be appreciated.

 

[mk3223]

May check with AHJ for an acceptable fire protection system to protect the oil storage tank.
My understanding is that the fire water is to provide the cooling of the equipment and surrounding area during the incident. Once the proper fire fighting equipment arrived and set up, the foam will be sprayed to extinguish the fire.
NFPA codes (15,16,30, etc.) specify the fire water requirements per surface area of tank roof and shell, which may be use to size the water pump and piping.

 

[chicopee]

I concur on all points with mk3223.