"Do your designs require a fire suppression plan?"

ANSWER: Do fires happen at compost facilities? Yes, but not with our smaller bin systems.

Fires can occur at large composting facilities as the result of spontaneous combustion. The biochemical conditions that lead to spontaneous combustion are complex; however, the conditions can be summarized as follows:

• The pile is quite large (a thousand cubic yards or more).
• The pile has been in place and unmanaged for an extended period of time.
• The moisture content of the pile has progressed from wet to a dry condition.
• The outside of the pile is sealed by rainwater (often in the early fall months), thereby preventing the release of heat in the core of the pile.

Compost fires can also result from cigarettes, arson, mechanical heat produced by processing equipment, and in-bound "hot" loads.

Compost fires are typically smoldering fires that that are identified by wafting blue smoke. To extinguish compost fires, the burning area is excavated and immediately doused with water. To learn more, read this BioCycle article:  Spontaneous Combustion in Composting: The Causes.

We have never had a fire with an O2Compost Bin System because 1) the volumes are comparatively small resulting in a high surface area to volume ratio; and 2) the compost is removed from the bin within 30 to 45 days. For this reason, a fire suppression plan will not be necessary.