Telangana tightens fire safety norms for Data Centres

Hyderabad: The Telangana Fire, Disaster Response, Emergency and Civil Defence Department has issued special fire and life safety guidelines for Data Centres operating in the state, aiming to strengthen safety standards while facilitating faster approvals for new projects.

Director General of Fire Services Vikram Singh Mann issued the guidelines through Circular Memorandum. The provisions will apply to applications for Provisional Fire No Objection Certificates (NOCs) submitted on or after November 6. The guidelines have been formulated in view of the state government’s priority to establish Data Centres and promote ease and speed of doing business. They seek to streamline fire NOC processing by considering the operational requirements and specific fire safety risks associated with these facilities.

According to the fire department, the Data Centres house servers, storage systems, networking equipment and critical electrical infrastructure. Their dependence on uninterrupted power and cooling systems, along with batteries, UPS units, transformers, generators, fuel storage and extensive cabling, presents specialised fire hazards.

“The new guidelines prescribe fire detection and alarm systems, appropriate suppression mechanisms, compartmentation, firefighting shafts, wet risers, refuge areas and adequate firefighting water storage and pumping facilities. Automatic sprinklers are required in administrative areas, while technical areas must have suitable water-mist or clean-agent gas suppression systems,” said a senior officer at Gire department. Furthermore, Special attention has been given to battery rooms, UPS rooms, transformer rooms, switchgear rooms and other critical electrical installations.

The Director General has instructed scrutiny officers to verify compliance with approved fire safety designs and prescribed conditions. The initiative aims to protect critical infrastructure, improve emergency preparedness and ensure effective fire safety across Telangana, says Vikram Singh.

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