ARLINGTON, Vir. – As the U.S. data center construction boom accelerates to support AI, advanced manufacturing, and smart, connected infrastructure, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently released guidance to ensure fire and life safety solutions are incorporated as integral systems within data centers.
NEMA’s Design Considerations for Fire and Life Safety Equipment in Data Centers (NEMA BS 31060-2025) provides data center developers, engineers, facility managers, and key stakeholders in the value chain with technical requirements, regulatory references, and industry best practices to design and implement safety solutions that protect people and data center infrastructure.
“Data centers have become foundational for America’s economic growth and competitiveness, and while we want to build quickly, we must also build safely. NEMA members make the fire and life safety systems that protect people, equipment, and facilities associated with data centers. Those technologies are core to this infrastructure, and this guidance reinforces that approach,” said NEMA Senior Vice President of Strategy, Technical, and Industry Affairs Patrick Hughes. “With this guidance and other resources, NEMA is doing its part to ensure that industry-leading solutions for fire and life safety, energy management, and grid-interactivity are widely adopted across the rapidly expanding data center fleet.”
NEMA’s Design Considerations for Fire and Life Safety Equipment in Data Centers reflects NEMA’s longstanding commitment to fire protection as an integral part of the data center design process. It provides a step-by-step framework for:
- Early-stage fire protection planning
- Detector placement in high-airflow environments
- Suppression system options
- Integration of detection, control, and response systems
- Alignment with applicable regulatory and industry standards
“With the exponential growth of the data center market, fire and life safety system design is a foundational part to ensure mission-critical functions remain operational,” said Siemens Smart Infrastructure Manager of Industry Relations and NEMA Fire, Life Safety Section Chair Maria Marks. “This new NEMA publication provides guidance on the key regulatory and industry standards for fire and life safety systems.”
The Design Considerations for Fire and Life Safety Equipment in Data Centers guide, developed through collaboration with NEMA’s Fire, Life Safety Section, is part of NEMA’s expanding library of resources to support data center developers, engineers, facility managers, and other stakeholders – including electrical manufacturers – to optimize the safety, efficiency, and reliability of data center projects. Guidance is available for on-site energy storage systems and microgrids, as well as insulating material, transformers, switchgear, uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems, wire and cable, electricity metering, and alternating current grounding and bonding systems.
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