Roof fire reported at Apple data centre site in Mesa, Arizona

What happened

On 26 May 2015 a fire was reported at Apple's data centre site in Mesa, Arizona, a former factory being converted for use as a data centre. Local reporting, as relayed by Data Center Dynamics, said the fire appeared to have started on rooftop solar panels. Crews were also dealing with another blaze inside the building. Fire crews from Mesa, Gilbert and Superstition attended, and the local report said the fire was extinguished within 35 minutes. No injuries were reported. The cause was still being investigated.

Contributing factors

The local report said the fire appeared to have started on the rooftop solar panels. It was not reported whether the fire inside the building was linked to the roof fire, and the cause had not been established.

Lessons learned

1. Large rooftop solar arrays should be arranged so crews can isolate the array and reach the roof without delay.
2. A roof fire and a fire inside the same building should be treated as possibly unrelated until a link is confirmed.
3. During conversion of an industrial building, both rooftop solar equipment and internal spaces need active monitoring so a small fire is found early.

Source

datacenterdynamics.com