Vesda

With VESDA,
you will never
have to
worry about
smoke going
unnoticed
in your
Datacom
facility

At a large datacom facility, a VESDA system alerted
staff to a problem. A capacitor on an emergency
generator was having electrical problems. They found
the source and prevented a fire.
Scott Lacey, Engineer, Cromwell Architects Engineers, U.S.A

What are the consequences of fire?What are the risks?

The implications of downtime or equipment failure
in a data center or telecommunications facility
(datacom) are massive. The USA Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) estimates that
the cost of downtime in a large datacom facility is
upwards of US $2 million per hour.

According to the FCC, the most common instigator of
fire events in telecommunication facilities arebuilding
systems, especially the power distribution equipment.

A fire in or near a datacom facility can cause:
• equipment failure or loss.
• latent equipment failure due to smoke
contamination.

The trend towards faster, more compact and higher
functionality datacom equipment has led to:
•

increased power consumption, which has led to
higher heat density.

•

more time beingspent on server and equipment
upgrades than on assessing the associated risks.

•

inadequate heating, ventilation and
air-conditioning (HVAC) systems to support new
generation equipment.

•

HVAC systems aiding the spread of incipient smoke
and fire, leading to equipment contamination.

• service disruption to businesses, services and
customers.
• loss of the building or otherphysical structure.
In 1999 a fire sparked by a dropped tool burnt
down a Pacific Bell Telephone Exchange.
The incident took down 110,000 phone lines,
airline networks, lottery terminals, emergency
service communications and security services.

“Through rapid alarm notification to our security
console, building management team and via
wireless paging to our 24 x 7 operations staff,
the VESDAsystem gives our staff and customers
confidence to place their mission critical
telecommunications systems within the worlds
most connected facility”

Smoke causes computer cancer

John R. Savageau SVP of Operations for CRG West

According to the FCC, 95% of all fire damage within
facilities housing electronic equipment is corrosion.
The fire may do little immediate damage, however,the chloride and sulfur deposited on delicate
electronic equipment will react with humidity in the air
to start the corrosion process.

Unique detection challenges:
•

Air movement from air-conditioning interferes with
the normal dispersion of smoke; often drawing it
away from conventional detectors.

Redundant systems within the same building may be
contaminated if they share the sameair-conditioning
system.

•

Smoke dilution occurs in areas of high airflow
and in large open spaces; delaying the time it
takes for conventional point-type detectors to
detect smoke.

•

Many HVAC systems employ a filtration system,
which will remove smoke particles from the air,
delaying the time it would take to detect smoke.

VESDA systems are designed to
overcome thedifficult challenges
present in datacom facilities.
VESDA aspirating smoke detection
is focused on life safety, asset
protection and business and service
continuity.

A VESDA system will ensure
your Datacom facility is
protected from fire

In 2006, a fire in a cable tunnel in Manchester, UK,
wiped out voice & data services to 130,000 homes
and businesses. The cost of the ensuing chaos to thearea’s economy reached a staggering £10m. Litigation
may continue for years to come.

The most effective use of a VESDA system to protect a datacom facility, is to install sampling points near the
most likely sources of electrical fire, and along the path that smoke will be carried by air-conditioning. The
VESDA Datacom Design Guide should be consulted when designing and specifying VESDA...