Fire Code and the Letterpress shop

We are usually really good at following the directions of the fire inspectors. Lets face it. Either fire or water means the demise of any shop, so we appreciate the inspections. But this time we were thrown a curve. The inspector has required us to store our ink in fire-proof cabinets. The cabinets we would need are 700lbs and $1200 each. When questioned, they say that the code says that any liquid or solid with a fire rating of 1 or more (oil base is #1) must be locked up. Even if it is one can! Has anyone else experienced this? Is this correct?
Bill

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If that is what they want to see then just play by their rules. You can get the cabinets for way less than list price on eBay. Just search for “Justrite” and “cabinet” and you’ll find what you need. Look for the yellow ones. Beats gettin’ fined!

Daniel Morris
The Arm Letterpress
Brooklyn, NY

I’ve run into this in the past….. and concur with Daniel. You really have no choice but to comply with the local rules. It does seem a bit like overkill to me, but some towns are like that…..

I deal with the same thing in my classroom/studio. I have two cabinets, It is a hassle to me, but The fine would be a bigger hassle.

When we started our studio back in February we looked around for a used fire cabinet but couldn’t find one close enough. We looked on the internet but the shipping was often as much as the cabinet. We ended up buying a new cabinet from Granger’s. We drove out and picked it up with no charge for the shipping.