Explosion Proof Regulations at Transit Garage
- Date Added: 06/19/07
MSBA LONG ISLAND BUS COMPANY
CHALLENGE
When the Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority (MSBA) Long Island Bus Company in New York, decided to convert their Rockville Centre location bus fleet from conventional diesel fuel to compressed natural gas (CNG), the company was challenged with a number of unique and critical-use exterior door requirements.
Due to the potentially volatile nature of CNG, the facility would be equipped throughout with a gas detection system using sensor technology to detect a gas leak. The doors would be required to interface with this new gas detection system.
“Safety is of paramount concern, both for our employees and the general public,” says John Susino, Manager of Engineering, Operations and Programs.
“The existing sectional overhead doors were slow and prone to breakdowns. Buses fueled with CNG are routinely parked, inspected, and serviced inside the facility. If a bus leaked, we needed reliable doors tied into our new methane gas detection system that would open quickly to prevent a potentially explosive situation.”
Local and national building codes also specified strict explosion-proof regulations for designated areas within the facility using CNG. These explosion-proof zones were dimensioned down from the roof deck and up from the floor to coincide with the rising or pooling of gases. Door components needed to be explosion-proof in the rated areas.
Another critical application requirement was security. Located in an urban environment, and shut down on weekends, the company needed assurance that the large, exterior facility openings would be secure. Considering 90% of the bus fleet traveled through the facility daily, saving energy was also an important consideration, especially during the winter months.
Based on the successful Garden City location conversion and upgrade, the Long Island Bus Company elected to specify the high-performance Marathon Hydrarol doors for the Rockville Centre facility.
SOLUTION
“The ASI (Technologies) Hydrarol doors proved to be very reliable in the Garden City application. They really met our speed and operational needs extremely well,” according to Susino. “It was a natural that these same doors would go into the Rockville Centre location.”
Thirteen (13) high-speed Marathon Hydrarol (M109) doors, ranging in size from 12’ wide x 12’ high, up to 24’ wide by 16’ high, were installed into the confines of the existing exterior openings.