Fire severely damages Maxnod data centre in Saint-Trivier-sur-Moignans, France
Mar 2023Published 10 Sept 2026Updated 13 Oct 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- Data centre in Saint-Trivier-sur-Moignans, France
- Operator
- Maxnod
- What
- Severe fire damaged facility with indoor solar-plus-battery storage
- Injuries
- One firefighter sustained a minor injury
- Cause
- Lithium-ion battery suspected but not confirmed
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What happened
A fire severely damaged the Maxnod data centre at Saint-Trivier-sur-Moignans in the Ain department of France on 28 March 2023, and the facility was taken offline. The 800 square metre building's structure was reported as compromised, and initial estimates said its network and electrical infrastructure was destroyed. According to Le Monde Informatique, the fire started while a new battery pack was being connected to an inverter on the building's photovoltaic circuit.
The equipment was new and not yet in production. Attempts to extinguish the flames manually failed. The fire was reported to be large partly because it started in a room holding several tonnes of battery storage for solar energy. The machine room was not directly struck by flames but was covered in soot and water. Fibre cables were burned, and some outages were reported, including to local FTTH subscribers. Le Monde Informatique reports more than 80 firefighters attended, and Data Center Dynamics reports about 81. One firefighter is believed to have been minorly injured; this is not confirmed by an official statement.
Contributing factors
According to Le Monde Informatique, the fire began during the connection of a new battery pack to an inverter on the photovoltaic circuit, and the battery room held several tonnes of battery storage. Sources do not confirm the failure mechanism. EPRI and Data Center Dynamics suspect a lithium-ion battery. Smoke and soot spread through the building and onto IT equipment. Sources do not report the state of the fire detection or suppression systems.
Lessons learned
- Connecting new battery packs to inverter circuits carries elevated risk, so operators should isolate, verify and follow a documented procedure before connecting equipment.
- Battery rooms holding large energy stores should be segregated with fire-rated walls and a suppression system suited to lithium-ion fires, as water alone may not stop thermal runaway.
- Plan for prolonged burning, smoke and soot contamination of IT equipment, and fibre loss, including clean-up procedures and off-site backups that allow fast recovery.
More lessons on worker safety and safe systems of work, fire suppression and firefighting, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Confirmed cause of the fire
- Battery model and age
- Data centre downtime duration
- Cost of the damage
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Standards referenced
EPRI
Source
Published 2026-09-10. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
