Secure I.T. Environments upgrades Isle of Wight Council fire suppression

221m3 data centre fire suppression and monitoring systems upgrade completed over two weeks in live data centre environment.

  • Wednesday, 9th April 2025 Posted 1 year ago in by Phil Alsop

Secure I.T. Environments has completed thef fire suppression upgrade project for the Isle of Wight (IoW) Council main data centre and comms room at Country Hall in Newport. SITE was also awarded a four year maintenance contract for the new suppression system.

The project for the council’s 221m3 data centre involved the design, decommissioning of existing fire suppression and installation of the new system. Conducted over a two week period in the live data centre, fully replaced the gas suppression system including control panels, cylinders and pipe work, smoke detection and audible alarms, VESDA early warning system and remote monitoring.

Minimising environmental impact

As part of maintaining the IoW Council’s commitment to minimising its impact on the environment, the SITE design used the FK-5-1-12 clean agent solution, which is stored as a liquid under pressure, and when released vaporises into the data centre quelling a fire and crucially leaves no residue. This solution is classified as having a zero ozone depletion and a global warming potential of less than one.

David Watts, Principal Officer Corporate Property Maintenance and Project Lead, said: “SITE secured the opportunity following a competitive tender process in which they demonstrated best value for the Council and conveyed confidence they could deliver the most appropriate design and installation in our live data centre environment and they did not disappoint, completing the project on programme.”

Chris Wellfair, Projects Director at Secure I.T. Environments, added: “Fire suppression systems can often be overlooked as a critical upgrade area in the data centre. But when they need to do their job, you want certainty they will rapidly extinguish a fire and alert staff. Like all areas of data centre operations regular maintenance, testing and planning for the end of life of systems is important.”

Dale Harding has joined Salute to lead strategic expansion in data centre lifecycle services, as...
ZincFive has launched a NiZn Retrofit Kit designed for use in existing data centre UPS battery...
Black & White Engineering has announced senior leadership appointments as it continues to expand...
Stellanor has acquired a data centre in Hemel Hempstead as part of its expansion of urban...
Nasuni has announced an expanded brand and product strategy aimed at supporting collaborative work...
Sytronix has entered a partnership to provide high-performance computing infrastructure for AI...
The French State’s acquisition of Bull supports its strategy around technological sovereignty,...
Daikin has expanded its UK HVAC rental fleet, supporting operational continuity and the shift to...