Data Centers
Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure and Ensuring Business Continuity
Data-center fire protection needs to address servers, cabling, electrical equipment, and the particular battery technology used for backup power. Equipment rooms and battery areas can present different hazards, so detection, suppression, and recovery arrangements need to be selected for each protected space.
Poseidon’s data-center work combines early detection, suppression, and battery-fire containment. The Delta Data Center project below illustrates one installation and its results.
Fire Safety Solutions for Data Centers
Server rooms, cable spaces, and UPS battery areas have different protection needs. Air movement, enclosure leakage, electrical hazards, battery chemistry, and recovery requirements affect the choice of detection and suppression.
Clean agent systems using FM-200 or Novec 1230 suppress suitable fires without extinguishing-agent residue. The enclosure, design concentration, detection, and release controls need to match the application. Residue-free discharge does not guarantee that heat, smoke, or a fire will leave electronics undamaged. Air-sampling detection such as VESDA provides early warning, with sampling layout, airflow, and alarm settings affecting response.
Lithium-ion battery protection also has to address heat, propagation, combustible gases, and possible re-ignition. Aerosol-based suppression systems and fire blankets must be assessed for the actual battery configuration and intended containment role. A blanket’s 1,200°F temperature rating does not demonstrate battery cooling or prevention of thermal-runaway propagation. Extinguishing visible flames is different from stopping the battery’s internal reactions.
The solutions integrate with Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) platforms for alerts and automated responses. At Delta Data Center in California, Poseidon’s approach—including clean agent suppression, VESDA detection, and battery-fire containment—helped extinguish a fire in seconds, saved $12 million worth of IT equipment, and reduced downtime by 85%.
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A data-center protection arrangement should connect detection, suppression, equipment shutdown or isolation, and recovery procedures for the actual spaces and hazards. Clean agent design requirements, including applicable NFPA 2001 provisions, address the clean agent system; battery hazards need a separate assessment.
For selection and quotation, use the form below and include the room layout and volume, airflow and enclosure conditions, equipment to be protected, and existing alarm and control interfaces. Where batteries are involved, add the battery chemistry, capacity, module or cabinet arrangement, and the intended containment and recovery objectives.