Commercial fire protection services play a critical role in the prevention and detection necessary to safeguard data centers from fires. These facilities hold critical business and organizational information from around the world, so it should come as no surprise that according to the Gartner Group, global spending on data centers will top about $149 billion this year.
While it’s obvious that data center fire suppression systems are necessary, there are a few things many may not know about protecting these facilities.
There Are Codes That Must Be Followed
It’s not up to owners and property managers to decide what is or what’s not enough to protect a data center. NFPA 76, one of the National Fire Protection Association’s codes, details the requirements for the protection of telecommunications facilities providing telephone, data, internet transmission, wireless, and video services from fires.
Even Small Data Centers Need to Be Protected
Large data centers aren’t the only facilities that need to be protected. Even small data centers have requirements. Specifically, rooms below 2,500 square feet — small data centers, in other words — need to have an Early Warning Fire Detection system installed in order to help ensure that they’re properly secured.
Lack of Maintenance is a Leading Problem
Many times, property owners and managers will install a system, and leave it be. What they forget is to maintain the system. Research shows that almost (44%) of dry chemical systems — the ones that are used to protect data centers — that failed, did so because of a lack of maintenance.
When protecting a data center, it’s absolutely imperative to follow all the codes and regulations, no matter how small the room is, and to maintain the system after it’s installed. If you have any questions about protecting your data center from the hazardous threat of a fire, feel free to share in the comments.
