Data centre fires may be uncommon, but their potential impact is disproportionate.
Data centres sit at the heart of modern business. They support everything from cloud computing and communications to banking, logistics and public services. While these facilities are designed for resilience and uptime, one risk stands out as particularly serious: fire.
Fires in data centres are relatively rare, but when they do occur, the consequences can be severe.
Outages can disrupt businesses, supply chains and public services far beyond the walls of the facility itself. For this reason, fire risk is treated as a fundamental consideration in data centre design, construction and operation, supported by multiple layers of prevention, detection and protection.
Why data centres are vulnerable to fire
The primary reason data centres carry higher fire risk is the sheer concentration of electrical infrastructure. Thousands of servers operate continuously, supported by complex power distribution systems, switchgear and cabling.
Electrical faults, such as overloaded circuits, loose connections or equipment failures, are widely recognised as the most common ignition source in data centre fires.
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| Photo by Taylor Vick on Unsplash |
Heat is another major factor. Servers generate significant amounts of heat and modern data centres are increasingly dense, packing more computing power into smaller spaces. If cooling systems underperform, airflow is restricted, or maintenance lapses occur, temperatures can rise quickly. Even localised overheating in a single rack or cable tray can be enough to trigger a fire.
Use of lithium-ion batteries
The growing use of lithium ion batteries adds a further layer of risk. These batteries are widely used in uninterruptible power supply systems because they are compact and efficient. However, if damaged or overheated, they can enter a state known as thermal runaway, where temperatures escalate rapidly and ignition becomes difficult to control.
Combustible materials
Despite their clean, industrial appearance, data centres also contain a surprising amount of combustible material. Plastic server housings, cable insulation, raised flooring systems and rack components can all act as fuel once a fire starts. Fires can spread unseen through underfloor voids and cable routes before becoming visible.
Minimal human oversight
Finally, many data centres operate with minimal on site staffing, particularly overnight. Without advanced detection systems, a small fault can develop into a major incident before human intervention is possible.
What does that have to do with concrete?
You might be wondering why MARKHAM should be discussing this topic.
It’s quite true that MARKHAM does not get involved with ventilation, or heat monitoring, or batteries, or choice of server materials.
Where does concrete come into play?
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| Photo by Lightsaber Collection on Unsplash |
Dust control and the selection of a safe concrete sealer
Dust control is a separate factor that must be considered for data centres. Fine dust acts as a silent, persistent threat to IT equipment, leading to reduced performance, equipment failure, and costly downtime.
This leads us to the concrete. Ageing concrete surfaces will typically degrade due to carbonation and similar reactions, leading to concrete dust leaving the surface. So that concrete must be permanently sealed.
And that sealer must be non-combustible, protecting the concrete without adding fire load.
You’re still with us? We’re nearly done!
So here’s how MARKHAM can help with data centre fire prevention.
For critical environments such as data centres, CONQOR PROTECT protects concrete without adding fire load. Independently tested to BS EN 13501 1, including ISO 1182 and ISO 1716, it is non-combustible and does not contribute to fire or heat release.
It is also a permanent treatment. This means you don’t need to factor in a re-coat every few years – or the associated disruption of services.
That’s good data to know.
Involved in design or construction of data centres large or small? We’d like to chat!
Take a little time with our on-demand webinar “Risk Reduction in Concrete Construction”.
Hero image by İsmail Enes Ayhan on Unsplash.
