 whizkid3Premium,MVM
join:2002-02-21
Queens, NY
kudos:8 | reply to AVonGauss
Re: Smaller Operations Well it sounds like the facility had a lower tier redundancy rating. "Larger operations" typically house their most critical applications in a higher tier facility, with more redundancy and compartmentialization of critical components.
The fire was not in the data hall, but in an electrical room. Lower tier facilities tend not to have their redundant electrical equipment 'compartmentalized'. That may have not been the case here.
While gaseous fire protection systems frequently are used to supress a raised-floor data hall environment from fire, they also have pre-action sprinklers (with dry pipes to avoid leaks) to protect the IT equipment from fire.
Having any type of gaseous protection in electrical equipment rooms of any kind (UPS rooms, transformer vaults, battery rooms, excluding diesel generator rooms) is very rare. Most electrical rooms are pre-action sprinklered, with some that have wet pipes (the latter not being recommended).
When rooms like this go on fire, the sprinklers of any type - pre-action, dry and wet pipe - the sprinklers are going to do their job and save the building. A fire that large has already destroyed some equipment. Most electrical fires in a room like this, are due to arcing and if last long enough to cause sprinkler fuses to melt, are not going to be suppressed with any type of gaseous suppression system. Because of this and perhaps because often these rooms are already redundant and compartmentalized, it doesn't justify the extra expense when the results. The lower tier data centers don't have fire supression in these rooms, because lower tier rating does not require them.
Likely this facility had a fire and subsequent water discharge so severe, that it took out any redundancy in the electrical systems. |
