Critical infrastructures (KRITIS) encompass areas in organizations and institutions that are indispensable for the functioning of public services. They control and monitor essential operational processes, the failure or impairment of which can have a significant impact on public safety. Read this article to find out how to minimize fire-related disruptions.
Not every disruption can be prevented. Fires caused by technical defects in electronics pose a particular danger. They often develop gradually over long smoldering phases and can jeopardize functionality. This makes it all the more important to apply the highest safety standards in order to reliably protect operational processes. After all, a fire in critical infrastructure can cause far more than just material damage. If server or control cabinets are affected — i.e., integrated computer and control systems that perform safety-critical tasks — the functioning of central control and communication systems is jeopardized. In energy supply, this can lead to widespread power outages, and in water supply, to interruptions in the provision of drinking water. The consequences are particularly dramatic in the healthcare sector, where the failure of medical devices or IT systems can be life-threatening.
The transport sector also faces significant risks: the failure of signal boxes or (airport) control systems can disrupt entire operations and endanger people. Added to this are the so-called domino and cascade effects. These are subsequent disruptions in other sectors due to the close interconnection of systems.
In the long term, such incidents can not only compromise public safety, but also cause billions of dollars in economic damage. Preventive fire protection measures are therefore essential to ensure the resilience of these systems.
A fire detection and fire extinguishing system located directly in the control cabinet can save valuable time in the event of a fire and reduce disruptions and damage to a minimum.
fast, targeted, uninterrupted
Early fire detection combined with effective fire extinguishing is a key component of holistic fire protection. It prevents disruptions and consequential damage and ensures the safe operation of critical infrastructure and the protection of sensitive data. Precise, highly sensitive, and, above all, early detection is crucial, especially in server and control cabinets where fires can start unnoticed.
With the TITANUS RACK·SENS aspirating smoke detector. WAGNER offers a specialized solution for server and control cabinets in critical infrastructures. The system has been tried and tested in data centers for many years. It detects even the finest smoke particles and works with continuous air sampling directly at the scene of the incident. This enables the system to react as early as possible and allows countermeasures to be taken – long before operational disruptions or failures occur.
TITANUS RACK·SENS can be easily and space-savingly integrated into server and control cabinets via a 19" slide-in carrier — even retrospectively. Sensitive fire detection directly at the source of danger provides a valuable time advantage of up to several minutes compared to conventional room monitoring systems.
The flexibly configurable alarm concept allows an internal message to be issued in the early stages of a fire. This enables operators to react quickly – for example, by replacing endangered components, backing up data, or eliminating the fire hazard by controlled power shutdown. In this way, hardware, data, and thus network integrity remain protected.
For a very high level of reliability, TITANUS RACK·SENS relies on LOGIC·SENS, a patented fire pattern recognition technology that is unique on the market for aspirating smoke detectors. It analyzes the signal curves of the air samples taken and compares them with real smoke development scenarios. This allows the system to reliably distinguish between real smoke particles and harmless disturbances such as dust, lint, or air movements. False alarms are effectively avoided, which is a decisive advantage, especially in critical environments where uninterrupted operation is essential.
LOGIC·SENS fire pattern recognition compares the actual values recorded with fire patterns, enabling reliable fire detection without false alarms
Thanks to the system's high sensitivity, even minimal smoke concentrations are detected at an early stage in the event of a fire, which is a decisive safety factor for the protection of sensitive computer systems. When a critical smoke density is reached, a fire alarm is automatically triggered and the extinguishing process with a residue-free extinguishing gas is initiated. For this purpose, TITANUS RACK·SENS can be combined directly in the control cabinet or externally with an extinguishing device. The extinguishing gas used is electrically non-conductive, prevents short circuits, and avoids damage that can be caused by liquid extinguishing agents. This rules out any damage caused by the extinguishing agent itself. Additionally, the rapid gas extinguishing prevents large-scale smoke contamination in the server room.
Even outside of critical infrastructure areas, fire hazards generally pose a considerable threat to businesses and society. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon to hear statements such as, "Why bother with fire protection? We've never had a fire, and the fire department is quick to respond in case of an incident." In practice, the issue of fire detection usually only comes into focus once damage has already occurred.
According to fire cause statistics from the IfS (Institute for Damage Prevention) 1 from 2023, electricity is the most common cause of fire, accounting for 32 percent of cases. The extinguishing statistics for incidents reported to the German Federal Association for Technical Fire Protection (bvfa) even show that IT systems and electrical switchgear were involved in 47 percent of reported fires. The main drivers of this risk are high power loads and the increasing density of electrical components – both factors that promote short circuits and overheating.
If a fire is not detected in time, the consequences can be serious, as described above. A fire-related failure of entire server and control cabinets can not only significantly impair operations and jeopardize operational readiness, but also permanently shake customer confidence. Long-term damage to the company's image is a real threat. The high concentration of value in these systems increases the risk: losses in the event of a fire often cannot be compensated for in the short term.
When a large data center in Strasbourg burned down in 2021, for example, important safety precautions such as automatic extinguishing systems and rapid power shutdown were lacking. These factors allowed the fire to spread unhindered and cause massive damage.
To be on the safe side, it is important to invest early on in a holistic fire protection solution that detects sources of fire as early as possible and extinguishes them without leaving any residue or causing damage, thus minimizing the risk of fire-related consequential damage.
Conclusion
TITANUS RACK·SENS offers an effective solution for early fire detection in server and control cabinets, and thus in critical infrastructures. The combination of proven technology, a multi-stage alarm concept, and an optional extinguishing function ensures a very high level of safety. Thanks to its easy retrofitability, the system can be integrated not only into new installations but also into existing server and control cabinets without any problems. Companies with demanding applications thus benefit from high reliability and efficiency – and ensure the long-term operational readiness of their server and control cabinets.
TITANUS RACK·SENS stands for reliable early fire detection in critical infrastructures. I look forward to hearing from you and discussing new applications and innovative solutions—at WAGNER and worldwide.
