A fire broke out at a data center leased by Elon Musk’s X in Hillsboro, Oregon, forcing an extended response from emergency crews and raising concerns about the safety measures in place.
A fire broke out on Thursday morning at a data center leased by Elon Musk’s X in Hillsboro, Oregon, forcing an extended response from emergency crews.
A data center is a facility that houses computer servers and other IT equipment in a controlled environment.
It provides secure, reliable, and efficient storage, processing, and distribution of large amounts of 'data'.
Data centers are used by organizations to store and process sensitive information, such as financial transactions, personal 'data', and business intelligence.
They typically include redundant power systems, cooling mechanisms, and advanced security measures to ensure high uptime and availability.
The fire department said a room with batteries contributed to the blaze at the building. Firefighters arrived at the scene at 10:21 am and found the room heavily smoky. However, they reported that the fire had not spread to other parts of the building. As of 3:00 pm, the crew was still on the scene.
The incident has raised concerns about the safety measures in place at the data center. Batteries often function as a backup power source at data centers, but lithium-ion varieties can be volatile. Issues with upkeep and inadequate safety measures have contributed to costly blazes at data centers around the world.
Prior to Elon Musk buying Twitter, X had three data centers in Sacramento, Portland, and Atlanta. The company ensured that if one data center went down, traffic could be shifted to the other two to avoid overwhelming any single facility. However, after shutting down a data center in Sacramento in 2022, the company experienced a major outage.
The incident has sparked questions about X’s safety protocols. Digital Realty, the building owner, provided limited information about the fire. Ryan Young, vice president of Americas operations for Digital Realty, stated that the fire had been contained and that all personnel were safely evacuated with no reported injuries. However, he declined to comment on customers.
The incident is also reminiscent of X’s parent company, xAI, taking criticism for its rapid expansion of power capacity at a new data center in Memphis. The facility has drawn widespread criticism from surrounding communities due to concerns about air pollution and industrial emissions.
