The National Fire Agency will conduct intensive inspections of fire risks at 163 public and private data centers across South Korea, examining batteries, electrical systems and fire-safety equipment. The move aims to prevent disruptions to telecommunications and key public and social services caused by incidents such as last year's fire at the National Information Resources Service in Daejeon.
The agency said on the 26th that it will carry out fire-safety inspections at 163 data centers nationwide from September 1 to October 30. The review covers 65 public institutions and 98 private facilities.
Data centers run large numbers of computer and electrical systems around the clock, with dense concentrations of batteries and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units that provide backup power. A fire could go beyond property damage to disrupt telecommunications and key public and social services.
The inspections will be led by regional fire-safety inspection teams, with battery experts and related organizations joining depending on local conditions. The agency will focus on identifying on-site fire hazards and facility-specific vulnerabilities.
For batteries, inspectors will check the stability of battery racks and supports, signs of flooding or leaks, temperature control at storage locations, the operating status of battery management systems (BMS), and any battery damage or fluid leakage. On the electrical side, they will examine switchboards and distribution boards, grounding facilities, and any damage to wires and cables.
The agency will also verify that key fire-safety equipment such as sprinklers and automatic fire-detection systems is working properly. Inspectors will check whether computer rooms, battery rooms and UPS rooms are separated, along with the condition of fire barriers and evacuation facilities, to assess the risk of fire and smoke spreading to other spaces.
Hazards that can be corrected on site will be addressed through safety consulting. Where legal violations are found, administrative measures such as fines will follow. The agency also plans to identify the types of batteries and the status of automatic fire-extinguishing systems at each data center for use in future safety-management policy.
"Because data centers concentrate computer equipment, electrical systems and batteries, fire-safety management tailored to the characteristics of these facilities is important," said Song Ho-young, head of the National Fire Agency's fire prevention bureau. "We will closely examine hazards that are easy to miss on site and ensure that the inspection results lead to real improvements in safety management."
