Fire is more of a threat in server rooms than it is in other parts of a commercial entity due to the numerous electrical connections that characterize server rooms.
Business owners need to take all precautionary measures possible to prevent fire outbreaks in their server rooms, or to reduce the potential extent of damage in the event of an outbreak.
This article discusses two things you might want to know about server rooms and fire if you intend to set up a server room from scratch.
The Wet-Type Fire Sprinkler
A fire suppression system is a must-have for your server room. The wet-type fire sprinkler you might have at home is not suitable for use in a server room, regardless of how effective it might have proven to be.
A wet-type sprinkler will spray the equipment and electrical connections in the server room with water in the event of a fire. You might be able to suppress the fire, but your equipment can easily suffer irreversible damage. A fire suppression system that uses carbon-dioxide or a chemical agent such as sodium bicarbonate would be a better choice of system for your server room.
However, you may find out that the local fire codes in your jurisdiction make it mandatory for your server room to have a wet-type sprinkler system. Many wet-type systems release water into a room immediately the system detects the presence of smoke, creating the possibility of false alarms that can have significant cost implications.
If legislation requires you to have a wet-type sprinkler, a commercial electrician can manipulate the design of the fire suppression system so that it delays to release water until a pre-determined amount of smoke and heat is detected within the server room.
You can further protect your cabling installations by investing in closed cabinet server racks instead of their open-framed equivalent. This should keep water from the sprinkler from reaching the data cables.
Cable Penetrations
The walls in server rooms often have numerous penetrations through which the data cabling runs to and from adjacent rooms. This is often considered to increase the fire hazard in a server room. In order to reduce this hazard, you should use intumescent fire-stopping products during the installation of wall cables.
Intumescent products come in the form of sealants, fire-rated foam insulation, caulks and mortar among others. In the event of fire, these products will swell and harden as a result of exposure to heat. This can help to stop the fire from spreading to or from adjacent rooms.
Share19 July 2016
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