The joint study by the Fire Industry Association (FIA) and the Fire Suppression Systems Association (FSSA) marks a significant milestone in understanding and enhancing fire safety in data centers. The findings not only contribute to the body of knowledge in fire safety but also pave the way for improved standards and practices in the industry. As data centers continue to evolve, the insights from this study will play a crucial role in ensuring their safety and resilience against fire hazards.

Robert Thilthorpe, Technical Manager at the Fire Industry Association, highlights the importance of collaboration with other organisations, such as the FSSA, in driving these initiatives forward.

Quotes:

“This research report is the culmination of almost six years’ collaboration between the UK’s Fire Industry Association (FIA) and the USA’s Fire Suppression Systems Association (FSSA).  The research demonstrated that continuous recirculating airflow can enhance the uniformity of gaseous agent concentrations in data center applications, even in spaces where aisle containments are present.  The conclusions of the report should be quite useful to those responsible for designing and maintaining clean agent fire extinguishing systems for data centers,” - Tom Wysocki, Technical Director, Fire Suppression Systems Association.

“The need to keep IT equipment within safe temperature ranges means cooling and air handling systems must remain operational in modern data centres during and after the discharge of gaseous fire extinguishing agents. This research project set out to understand the effects that these high air flows have on the distribution of the agent and whether the continued air movements would assist or hinder the performance of any system, and if design approaches need to change.” - Alan Elder, Chairman of FIA Working Group Gases.

Download the report here.