Confirm whether the facility manufactures, stores, or displays aerosol products and how they are classified, then trace storage areas, rack and pile layouts, separation, and sprinkler protection through every discipline. AI can flag conflicts; the fire protection engineer and the authority having jurisdiction decide compliance.
What does NFPA 30B cover?
NFPA 30B is the Code for the Manufacture and Storage of Aerosol Products. NFPA describes it as providing minimum requirements for the prevention and control of fires and explosions in facilities that manufacture, store, and display aerosol products.
NFPA’s official NFPA 30B page identifies the 2027 edition as current when checked on October 4, 2026. Confirm the edition, local amendments, and project scope that actually govern the work. The publisher’s newest edition does not establish local adoption.
Aerosol storage usually sits inside a broader storage design governed by the NFPA 13 sprinkler guide, and flammable liquid filling may also involve the NFPA 30 guide. Where the jurisdiction uses the International Fire Code, record how it points to NFPA 30B. The commodity classification belongs to the fire protection engineer; the review checks that every document uses the same one.
Start from the commodity and storage description
Collect the owner’s commodity or product list, the storage plan with rack and pile layouts, the architectural plans with any segregated storage rooms or areas, the sprinkler drawings and design basis, the hydraulic calculation summary, and, for manufacturing, the process layout for filling and propellant handling.
Note whether the project is a warehouse, a retail store, or a manufacturing plant, because each puts aerosol products in different places and on different sheets.
Follow the aerosol products through the set
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Use and classification | Commodity list, code summary, sprinkler design basis | Confirm each document uses the same aerosol classification and use. |
| Storage areas | Storage plan, architectural plans, sprinkler plans | Match where aerosol products are stored or displayed across sheets. |
| Rack and pile layout | Rack drawings, storage plan, sprinkler plans | Check that rack heights and configurations agree with the protection drawings. |
| Separation | Architectural plans, wall types, door schedule | Identify segregated areas or rooms whose walls or openings differ between sheets. |
| Sprinkler protection | Sprinkler plans, hydraulic summary, specifications | Confirm the protection drawn in the aerosol area matches the stated design basis. |
| Manufacturing areas | Process layout, mechanical and electrical plans | Trace filling and propellant areas through ventilation and classified-area drawings. |
Carry warehouse storage questions into the sprinkler document checklist, classified areas into the NFPA 70 electrical guide, and hazardous materials quantities into the NFPA 400 guide.
Example: aerosols added to a general warehouse rack plan
Hypothetical example. The owner’s product list adds aerosol products to one aisle of a distribution warehouse. The storage plan marks that aisle, but the sprinkler design basis and hydraulic summary still describe only the general commodity used elsewhere.
The storage plan shows aerosol products in one aisle, but the sprinkler design basis and hydraulic summary describe only the general commodity. Please confirm the commodity in that aisle and the protection basis for it.
The fire protection engineer confirms the classification and revises the design basis or the storage plan. Whether the protection meets the adopted code is the engineer’s and authority’s decision.
Review aerosol storage documents with Groundbook
Upload the current project PDFs and relevant specifications to Groundbook. Identify the governing issues and add the applicable NFPA 30B reference from a copy you are licensed to use, where the license permits uploading it. State the edition, amendments, review area, and known exclusions in your instructions.
Compare the commodity list, storage and rack plans, architectural plans, sprinkler drawings and design basis, hydraulic summary, and process drawings. Flag aerosol classifications, storage areas, rack layouts, separation, and protection information that differ between sources. Use the supplied NFPA 30B edition where applicable and cite both sources.
Groundbook links each potential finding to the sheets behind it. It does not classify aerosol products; it checks that the documents agree on the classification they state.
Document review does not classify aerosol products, design sprinkler protection, run hydraulic calculations, or approve the facility. Those decisions remain with the fire protection engineer and the authority having jurisdiction.