|
Great emphasis is directed toward protecting the data within a computer. Firewalls and other security measures are precautions taken by many corporations, and rightly so. More and more information is stored on computers, and this confidential information needs to be protected from those who would misuse it. However, with all the focus on protecting the data from disaster and hackers, little attention is focused on protecting the home for all this data: computers.
The rooms that hold all the data are typically highly secure and well protected with fire suppression systems. However, fire-rated walls may or may not have been installed around the room as part of the original design plans. If installed, the structural integrity of firewalls may have been jeopardized if any new equipment, wires, or cooling have been added since the initial installation. Gaps in a fire-rated wall decrease its effectiveness.
Recent studies have shown that the traditional idea of smoke may be wrong. Smoke has been shown to be a combustible and capable of igniting. Smoke is now considered to be a combustible gas rather than a by-product of burning.
This distinction is important. Thinking of smoke as a combustible gas changes the way we think about fire. If there is enough smoke in a room, and a source of oxygen, the smoke can spontaneously erupt into a ball of flame and consume everything in the room with temperatures reaching up and over 1400°F. This phenomenon is known as a flashover.
Increasingly, it is believed that flashovers could be the main cause of a fire in a data center. If smoke should enter from adjacent rooms and continue to collect in the room, a flashover could occur and ignite the data center. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all entrances and exits are sealed. To prevent a flashover in your room, check that all openings (including the under floor) are securely sealed and will not allow smoke and fire to transport from one room to another.
|