Fire NOC for a cold storage: licences, ammonia rules, state lines and steps

Fire NOC for a cold storage at a glance: 10 facts

Cold storage fire NOC lines in 27 states and UTs, from the instruments

How to get a fire NOC and licence for a cold storage: 9 steps

1. 1

   Settle the class: Group H, moderate hazard

   A cold store is Group H. Check the ammonia: NBC 2016 puts buildings storing ammonia under pressure in quantities over 70 m³ in Group J, the hazardous group.

2. 2

   Keep the building under the state's height cap

   15 m under NBC 2016 and in Uttar Pradesh, 21 m in Haryana, 24 m in Maharashtra subject to local fire-fighting facilities.

3. 3

   Take the cold storage construction permission

   Uttar Pradesh (s.9 of the 1976 Act) and West Bengal (s.2A of the 1966 Act) bar building a new cold store without the Licensing Officer's prior permission.

4. 4

   Size the fire systems by floor area and storeys

   NBC 2016 Table 7 changes at 250 m² and at each added floor; Maharashtra changes at 1,000 m²; NBCS 2026 at 500, 1,000 and 2,000 m² and for racks.

5. 5

   Choose and detail the insulation

   Line both faces of any combustible lining to the required flame spread class, fit pressure relief ports in panel chambers, and keep panel joints sealed as NHB's standard sets out.

6. 6

   Engineer the ammonia plant for a leak and a fire

   Detectors in the machine room and chamber vestibules, a water curtain round the receiver, relief valves piped to a scrubber, and automatic isolation of the charge in a fire.

7. 7

   Apply for the fire certificate before you store

   Apply on the state portal once the systems are installed and tested; the fire documents list and the online apply page show what each state asks.

8. 8

   Take the cold storage licence and the insurance

   UP's s.5 and West Bengal's s.3 bar the business without a licence; UP's s.23 and West Bengal's s.15 make fire insurance a duty of the licensee.

9. 9

   Diary renewals, filings and drills

   West Bengal's licence renewal goes in 45 days before expiry; Maharashtra files Form B each January and July; Telangana's alert wants ammonia drills every quarter.

Where a cold storage sits in the fire codes: Group H, G2 and J

Both codes put a cold store in Group H, storage, and their hazard tables call it moderate hazard. The ammonia that cools it can pull a building into Group J.

GGroup H, NBC 2016 clause 3.1.9

Buildings used mainly to store goods, vehicles or animals, with cold storages named among the examples. A new use that brings many more people in, such as offices, changes the class. 1BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

GGroup H, NBCS 2026

The 2026 standard repeats the definition and the cold storage example word for word in substance. It is voluntary; only Assam had written NBCS 2026 into its fire law by 24 October 2026. 4BIS, SP 7:2026

MModerate hazard, NBC 2016 Annex B

"Cold Storage Premises" sit in the moderate hazard column, beside cork, coir and dry cleaning, read off the page image. 2BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

GG2, NBCS 2026 Annex B

"Cold storage premises" and "Cold Freezer Room" both sit in the G2 moderate hazard column of the 2026 table. 4BIS, SP 7:2026

GGroup J, clause 3.1.10(a)

Hazardous buildings include those storing gases such as ammonia under a pressure above 0.1 N/mm² in quantities over 70 m³. The clause does not say how a refrigeration charge is counted. 2BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

FFire Zone No. 3

NBC 2016 groups storage buildings with high hazard industry and hazardous uses in the third fire zone of a planned city. 1BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

CCold storage, UP Act 1976

An enclosed chamber insulated and cooled by refrigeration machinery for farm produce; cabinets and chilling plants under 100 m³ are left out. 58LawGistnews report

IIndustrial building, Maharashtra Schedule II

The fee schedule counts Group H storage, Group G industry and Group J hazardous buildings as industrial, at 0.75% of the Annual Statement of Rates up to 45 m. 20MH Act 2023 Schedule II

Cold storage fire systems by size: NBC 2016, NBCS 2026 and Maharashtra

A cold store's plant grows with its covered area and storeys. The NBC 2016 and Maharashtra rows were read off their page images; the NBCS rows are its protection levels HL-4 to CL-7.

Every row also asks for extinguishers and first-aid hose reels. Maharashtra's Note 18 asks the whole occupancy to be protected by hydrants, sprinklers, spray, mist, gas, foam and alarms as the Indian Standards apply, and Note 21(b) asks another agent where water is unsuitable. NBCS 2026 Remark 1 recommends a dry riser where the ambient temperature is below 4 °C, which fits a freezer block. The general warehouse grid, with multi-level car parks, is on the warehouse page.

Cold storage height, exit and water limits in 12 numbers

These are the figures the codes and state Acts set for storage buildings, read off the page images where marked in the sources.

• 15 m

  Highest Group H building NBC 2016 permits (Table 7, Note 20); Uttar Pradesh repeats it 3NBC 2016, Part 4

• 21 m

  Highest storage building Haryana's 2022 Act permits 21Government of Haryana

• 24 m

  Highest storage building Maharashtra permits, subject to local fire-fighting facilities (Notes 3(c) and 3(g)) 5MH Act 2023 Schedule-I

• 30 m²

  Floor area per person used to work out a storage building's occupant load (NBC 2016 Table 3) 2BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

• 30 m

  Longest travel to an exit in a storage building of construction Types 1 and 2 (NBC 2016 Table 5); 50% more if fully sprinklered 2BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

• 90 m

  Travel distance NBCS 2026 allows in a sprinklered storage building 4BIS, SP 7:2026

• 1,400 m²

  Gross area above which a storage space needs 2 exit doors, unlocked while anyone is inside (clause 6.8.1.2) 2BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

• 10 persons

  Normally present: the other trigger for those 2 exit doors 2BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

• 150 mm

  Size of the fire mains for storage buildings up to 15 m (NBC 2016 Table 8) 2BIS, NBC 2016 Part 4

• 4 °C

  Ambient temperature below which NBCS 2026 recommends a dry riser 4BIS, SP 7:2026

• 41.8 MJ/kg

  Calorific value of polystyrene in NBCS 2026 Table 12; polyurethane 35.2 4BIS, SP 7:2026

• 100 m³

  Chilling plants smaller than this are not a cold storage under the UP Act 58LawGistnews report

The cold storage licence beside the fire NOC: 6 regimes

A cold store answers to a licensing officer as well as the fire service. These are the regimes Flamekite read, with what each asks about fire.

• Uttar Pradesh, Act 11 of 1976

  Licence from the Director of Horticulture

  No cold storage business without a licence (s.5); no new store built without prior permission (s.9); refusal if the store does not meet prescribed specifications (s.6); stored produce insured against fire (s.23). Read from a legal database copy. 58LawGistnews report

• West Bengal, Act VI of 1966

  Licence for 5 years from the Director of Agriculture

  Valid 5 years, renewed 2 years at a time on a fee of up to Rs 200, applied 45 days before expiry; District Magistrates may be empowered; the building, machinery and produce insured as the Licensing Officer decides. 8WB Cold Storage Act

• Bihar, Act of 1992

  Bihar State Regulation of Cold Storages Act

  Its section 40(b) lets the officer inspect a cold storage, its machinery and records. Its licence terms were not read for this page. 59Indian Kanoonnews report

• WDRA, circular of 27 April 2017

  Warehouse registration for a cold store

  A registered cold storage may also insure stock lost to a power failure and plant and machinery damaged by fire; the 2019 procedure asks a basic data sheet and proof of the technical standards it was built to. 22WDRA circular 1/2017

• NHB subsidy

  Capital investment subsidy

  40% of capital cost, 55% in hilly and scheduled areas, up to 5,000 MT a project, for stores with a safety system against fire and refrigerant leaks built to the notified technical standards. 12NHB subsidy

• Assam, Sewa Setu

  A fire form for ammonia

  Form II covers the storage and handling of gases including ammonia; Form III covers godowns. Flamekite did not find which of the 2 forms Assam applies to a cold store with an ammonia plant. 23Sewa Setu Assam

What West Bengal's 1966 Act says about insuring a cold storage

Section 15 of the West Bengal Act makes insurance of the whole cold store a legal duty. Read off the page image of the Act as amended in 1978.

The proviso makes the hirer pay a pro-rata premium on the produce alone. Uttar Pradesh's section 23 is narrower: the licensee insures the stored produce against fire and breakdown, and says nothing of the building. Neither Act names a fire certificate; Flamekite did not find either state's cold storage Rules, where a fire condition could sit.

4 fire rules that tie a cold storage licence to the fire certificate

Four states' fire rules name cold storage among the licences that fall with the fire certificate. In each, a cancelled certificate goes to the licensing authority.

Ammonia plant safety in a cold storage: 12 points from the rules

Telangana's Directorate of Factories issued Safety Alert 10/2026 in June 2026 for cold storage units with ammonia chilling plants; NHB's 2010 standard and the MSIHC Rules add the rest.

PUF and EPS insulated panels in a cold storage: 5 dos and 4 don'ts

The codes do not name PUF or EPS panels, so these lines come from the clauses that govern combustible linings and from NHB's cold storage standard. Each line names its source.

Does your cold storage need a fire NOC? 11 cases

Find the first line that fits your store. Crossing any one test in your state is enough, and the cold storage licence is a separate question.

1. If Uttar Pradesh, any cold store

   Yes: s.26(3) lists every storage building without a size line, and the 1976 Act needs a licence too. Fire NOC UP 19UP Act 16 of 2022

2. If Delhi, over 250 m² across all floors

   Yes, at any height, under Rule 27. Fire NOC Delhi 27DFS

3. If Gujarat, over 250 m² and under 15 m

   Yes: godowns and warehouses over 250 m² are in the Third Schedule. Fire NOC Gujarat 28Gujarat Fire Safety Compliance Portal

4. If Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Manipur or Nagaland, over 250 m²

   Yes; Chhattisgarh counts all floors and gives a 2-year certificate. Fire NOC Chhattisgarh 29Fire and Emergency Services and SDRF, Chhattisgarh

5. If Tripura, above 10 m or 200 m²

   Yes, by the full route under the 2026 Rules. Fire NOC Tripura 2026 16Directorate of Fire and Emergency Services, Tripura

6. If Haryana, Bihar, Arunachal or Andhra Pradesh, a floor over 500 m²

   Yes as a special building, at any height; Bihar also at 15 m. Fire NOC Haryana 21Government of Haryana

7. If Odisha, 500 m² built-up

   Yes, with a 2-year certificate under Order 50908 of 2019. Fire NOC Odisha 24Order 50908 of 2019

8. If West Bengal, one floor up to 9 m and 500 m²

   No FSR or FSC: a yearly Form-12 self-certification on e-District, plus the cold storage licence. Fire NOC West Bengal 15WB notification 1930

9. If Kerala, 300 to 1,000 m² and up to 15 m

   An Appendix L self-declaration with a copy to the fire station; above 1,000 m² a fire NOC. Fire NOC Kerala 30KMBR 2019

10. If Telangana, up to 15 m

    No fire NOC under the 2016 line, but a factory's ammonia plant still answers to the 2026 factories alert. Fire NOC Telangana 31TSDRFS circular 2016

11. If Below every line in your state

    No certificate, but NBC 2016 still asks a store under 250 m² for extinguishers, hose reels, sprinklers and a 25,000 litre terrace tank. Do I need a fire NOC? 3NBC 2016, Part 4

Cold storage fire NOC fees in 8 official schedules

Storage pays by floor area where a state publishes a rate. Each line is from an official schedule; consultants' charges and the cold storage licence fee are separate.

What a cold storage risks without its licence or fire certificate: 9 penalties

Two sets of law apply: the cold storage Act and the fire Act. Each line names the law that sets it.

Every state's fire penalty ladder is on the fire NOC penalties page.

Cold storage fire NOC worked cases: 8 stores

Each case applies one instrument to a described cold store. They are Flamekite's worked examples, not decisions of any fire service or licensing officer.

1. Case 1

   A single-storey cold store in Narela, Delhi, 600 m²

   One floor of chambers, 9 m to the ridge.

   What applies Over 250 m², so a DFS certificate. NBC 2016's ground-floor row asks a wet riser, yard hydrant, sprinklers, detection, a 50,000 litre underground tank and a 1,620 litre a minute pump set. 3NBC 2016, Part 4

2. Case 2

   A ground plus 2 potato store in Nalanda, Bihar, 1,200 m² a floor

   3,600 m² in all, 13 m high.

   What applies A floor over 500 m², so covered. Provisional fee 3,600 x Rs 10 = Rs 36,000, final Rs 18,000. NBC asks a 1,00,000 litre tank and 2,280 litre a minute pumps. 32BFS fee PDF

3. Case 3

   A 5,000 MT store in Agra, Uttar Pradesh

   Multi-chamber, 14 m, ammonia plant.

   What applies A fire certificate for 3 years whatever its size, the Director of Horticulture's permission before building and a licence before storing, and fire insurance on the produce. 58LawGistnews report

4. Case 4

   A cold chain warehouse near Pune, 20 m

   4 floors, 2,500 m² a floor.

   What applies Allowed in Maharashtra up to 24 m if local fire-fighting can serve it. Over 1,000 m², Note 18 asks full protection to the Indian Standards; fee 0.75% of ASR per m². 5MH Act 2023 Schedule-I

5. Case 5

   The same store planned at 22 m in Faridabad

   Haryana.

   What applies Above Haryana's 21 m cap for storage buildings: redesign before applying. 21Government of Haryana

6. Case 6

   A 450 m² single-floor cold store in Hooghly, West Bengal

   8 m high.

   What applies Inside the 9 m and 500 m² limits: a yearly Form-12 self-certification, and a cold storage licence for 5 years, renewed for 2. 15WB notification 1930

7. Case 7

   An 800 m² cold store near Shillong

   Single storey.

   What applies Over 500 m², so a fire clearance. At Rs 6 per m² the fee is Rs 4,800; renewal Rs 2,000. 33Meghalaya F&ES

8. Case 8

   A 12 m seafood cold store in Medchal, Telangana

   Ammonia chilling plant, 40 workers.

   What applies Below Telangana's 15 m storage line, so no fire NOC, but as a factory it falls under Safety Alert 10/2026: detectors, a receiver water curtain and quarterly drills. 10Telangana Factories

Where cold storages fail, and the fix: 7 cases

These are the failures the instruments and the post-incident reports point to for cold stores.

Cold storage fire NOC myths, checked against the rules

5 claims repeated online, and what the instruments say.

• You may have read

  A cold store is too cold to burn.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  BIS's note on IS 3594:2024 says cold stores face significant fire hazards from insulation, wooden pallets and packaging, and NBC 2016 rates cold storage premises moderate hazard. 13BIS

• You may have read

  Every state needs a fire NOC for cold storage only above 500 m².

  Myth

  What the sources say

  Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Manipur and Nagaland draw the line above 250 m², Tripura at 200 m², and Uttar Pradesh covers every storage building. 27DFS

• You may have read

  The cold storage licence covers fire safety.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  The licence comes from the horticulture or agriculture side; the fire certificate is a separate document from the fire service, and four states' fire rules can cancel the licence when the certificate goes. 14UP Rules 2024

• You may have read

  A cold storage can go as high as the plot allows.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  NBC 2016 permits no Group H building above 15 m; Maharashtra stops at 24 m and Haryana at 21 m. 3NBC 2016, Part 4

• You may have read

  Ammonia only poisons; it cannot burn.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  Telangana's 2026 alert classes ammonia as toxic and flammable, with a flammable range of 15 to 28% in air, and asks the charge to isolate automatically in a fire. 10Telangana Factories

Cold storage fire and licensing rules, dated: 1966 to 2026

The instruments that set or changed a cold store's fire and licence duties, in order.

1. 1966

   West Bengal's Cold Storage (Licensing and Regulation) Act; amended in 1978 to 5-year licences renewed 45 days before expiry. 8WB Cold Storage Act

2. 20 September 1975

   The UP Regulation of Cold Storages Act takes effect from this date; passed as Act 11 of 1976. 58LawGistnews report

3. 27 November 1989

   The MSIHC Rules list ammonia with its threshold quantities. 9MSIHC Rules 1989

4. 1992

   Bihar's State Regulation of Cold Storages Act. 59Indian Kanoonnews report

5. 9 January 2010

   NHB uploads its cold storage technical standards, with a safety section for ammonia and fire. 11NHB standards

6. 27 April 2017

   WDRA's insurance circular adds power-failure and fire cover options for cold stores. 22WDRA circular 1/2017

7. 1 March 2024

   West Bengal lets small single-floor cold stores self-certify on Form-12. 15WB notification 1930

8. 9 October 2024

   BIS announces IS 3594:2024, the second revision of the storage and cold storage fire code. 13BIS

9. 30 April 2026

   NBC 2016 is withdrawn; NBCS 2026 brings Table 7H's protection levels for storage. 42Gazette of India

10. June 2026

    Telangana's Directorate of Factories issues Safety Alert 10/2026 for ammonia chilling plants in cold stores. 10Telangana Factories

Cold storage collapses and ammonia leaks: Chandausi 2023 to Tiruvallur 2026

From news reports, not yet an official source.

What Flamekite could not confirm about cold storage fire NOCs

These 8 points are where a reader would expect an answer and no official source gave one on 25 October 2026.