Small fire in lead-acid batteries at a reported east London data centre

What happened

In the early hours of Saturday, eight fire engines and about 60 firefighters attended a small fire at a commercial building on Nutmeg Lane in Blackwall, east London. The BBC headline described the premises as a data centre. The London Fire Brigade said the fire was limited to a string of lead-acid batteries, with no further damage to the building and no injuries reported. Crews were mobilised at 4:52 GMT because the fire was in a high-rise building and brought it under control by 6:43.

The brigade said the fire is believed to have been accidental. The report does not name the operator or say whether any services were affected.

Contributing factors

The London Fire Brigade said the fire is believed to have been caused by the failure of one of the batteries. The report does not say how that battery failed or what the batteries supplied.

Lessons learned

1. A fire confined to a battery string can still draw a large fire-service response when it is in a high-rise building.
2. Operators should be able to say quickly which batteries are involved and whether the rest of the building is affected.
3. Early public reports may not establish the site operator, the battery duty or any effect on services, so those points should be checked before they are treated as known.

Source

BBC News (bbc.com)