Underground piping extinguishing water systems

Important for ensuring business continuity

One part of Maersk's new coldstore distribution center on the Maasvlakte that not everyone will immediately think of is the construction of the underground piping for the firewater systems. Yet this component contributes enormously to safety. Construction company QUALM was called in for this work.

The company has been around for some ninety years and specializes in laying underground piping for firefighting water systems, says director Menno Mulders. "We have been certified for years to install and maintain extinguishing water pipes. We are audited annually when we are working on a construction site. In terms of maintenance, we visit our customers once or several times a year. Then we check all fire hydrants and valves and see if there is sufficient extinguishing capacity."

For this project, the request came from general contractor Cordeel. QUALM frequently works for this contractor and both companies are located in the same region. Previously, QUALM provided the piping and pumps for Maersk's adjacent cross dock.

480 meters of piping

Because the new coldstore distribution center is a huge building, many meters of piping went into the ground: a total of some 475 meters of PE piping. At QUALM they don't turn their hand to it. Mulders: "This is a project of normal size for us. We spent about two weeks laying the firewater pipes and then we also laid the drinking water pipes. We were working on the site with a foreman, a crew of three and an excavator operator. It does require a lot of coordination among ourselves, because the ground has to be opened up and that is difficult for all parties. We therefore took good account of each other in terms of supply and removal routes."

'Ensuring business continuity'

Although firewater piping may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a new construction project, it is certainly important to have a good firefighting facility. Mulders: "This facility simply has to be there and working properly. After all, it has an important function: ensuring business continuity after a fire."