It is also widely recognised that the containers within
which some materials are stored add signifi cantly to the fi re
loading within buildings, most notably bulk warehouses.
The Hazardous Installations Directorate report on chemical
warehouse hazards states that fl ammable liquids in plastic,
intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) present a very high risk
because they inevitably fail in the case of a fi re releasing
their contents, adding, as a rule of thumb, around 3 MW/
m2 to the total rate of heat release each.