Telangana introduces special fire safety norms for data centres, mandates suppression systems

Telangana’s Fire Department has introduced dedicated fire and life safety guidelines for data centres. They recognise that these facilities contain different hazards from ordinary business buildings. The aim is to strengthen prevention and emergency preparedness while helping projects receive clearances faster.

The norms cover automatic sprinklers in administrative areas and water-mist or clean-agent gas systems in technical areas. They also require detection and alarm systems, compartmentation, firefighting shafts, wet risers, refuge areas, and adequate firefighting water storage and pumps. Battery, UPS, transformer and switchgear rooms need risk assessments, ventilation, fire-rated separation and emergency shutdown arrangements.

The systems must connect with relevant building-management and emergency systems. Data halls must remain free of cardboard, packaging, wooden pallets and waste. Officers will check approved designs and required conditions when processing provisional Fire NOC applications submitted from November 6, 2026.

The new Telangana guidelines take effect for applications submitted on or after November 6, 2026. They apply specifically to applications for provisional Fire No Objection Certificates, or Fire NOCs, relating to data-centre projects. Applications submitted before that date are not identified in the article as being covered by these new norms.

Director General of Fire Services Vikram Singh Mann issued the guidelines through a circular dated October 28, 2026. Scrutinising officers must verify compliance with approved fire safety designs and the prescribed conditions while processing applications. This gives the department a defined framework for reviewing specialised facilities.

The timing serves two purposes. It addresses the unusual fire risks created by servers, batteries, power equipment, fuel and cables. It is also intended to speed up clearances for data-centre projects, supporting the government’s priority of attracting investment while strengthening emergency preparedness.

The guidelines use different suppression approaches for different parts of a data centre. Administrative areas must have automatic sprinkler systems. Technical areas, including server halls, must use a suitable water-mist system or clean-agent gas suppression system. The article does not name one universal system for every technical room.

Battery rooms, UPS rooms, transformer rooms and switchgear rooms receive special attention. Their requirements include fire risk assessments, ventilation, fire-rated separation and emergency shutdown arrangements. Fuel storage and other high-risk areas must also receive appropriate protection. Detection and alarm systems are required across the facility.

The choice reflects the equipment and risks in each space. Sprinklers are prescribed for administrative areas, while technical spaces need the specified water-mist or clean-agent options. The guidelines also require integration with building-management and emergency systems, so detection and suppression can support a coordinated response.

These systems matter because data centres combine computing equipment with a large supporting power chain. Servers and storage systems operate alongside UPS units, batteries, transformers, generators, fuel storage and extensive cable networks. The article identifies this combination as a source of distinct fire risks requiring specialised prevention and emergency response.

For example, a battery or UPS room needs a fire risk assessment, ventilation, fire-rated separation and emergency shutdown arrangements. Transformer and switchgear rooms also receive particular attention. Fuel storage is treated as another high-risk area. These measures address the different hazards within separate rooms rather than treating the building like a standard office.

The article does not provide numerical comparisons with ordinary offices. It does establish that data centres contain extensive equipment and infrastructure, while fewer people are usually present. That combination makes reliable detection, compartmentation, suppression and emergency coordination especially important for safe operation and rapid response.

No figure in the article states how much more equipment, electricity or cooling capacity a typical data centre has than an ordinary office building. Therefore, the requested comparison cannot be calculated from the supplied source. The article makes a qualitative comparison, not a numerical one.

It says data centres house extensive server and storage systems, alongside UPS units, batteries, transformers, generators, fuel storage and cable networks. It also opens by describing them as critical infrastructure requiring uninterrupted power and cooling. Those facts show a concentrated and continuous technical load, but they do not provide a typical size, power rating or cooling figure.

The safe conclusion is that Telangana’s rules respond to specialised infrastructure rather than a stated scale multiplier. Any exact comparison would require outside data about facility size, electricity demand and cooling capacity. Such figures are not provided in the article and should not be inferred from its wording.

The article does not describe a specific fire incident or list exact consequences of an uncontrolled server-hall or battery-room fire. It does establish that data centres are critical infrastructure requiring uninterrupted power and cooling. A serious fire in one of these areas could therefore threaten equipment and the facility’s ability to continue operating.

The guidelines target that danger through detection and alarm systems, compartmentation, suitable suppression, firefighting shafts, wet risers, refuge areas, water storage and pumping facilities. Battery and UPS rooms also need ventilation, fire-rated separation and emergency shutdown arrangements. These measures are designed to support early warning, limit spread and enable emergency response.

The practical implication, based partly on established fire-safety principles, is that delayed action could allow damage to spread and operations to be interrupted. The article does not quantify possible losses. It focuses instead on preventing escalation and improving preparedness before an emergency occurs.

A data centre is a facility built around server and storage systems, supported by equipment such as UPS units, batteries, transformers, generators, fuel systems and cable networks. This definition combines the article’s description with common usage. The article does not provide a formal dictionary-style definition, but it clearly identifies the facility’s main components.

It is considered critical infrastructure because its systems must receive uninterrupted power and cooling. A continuous operating requirement makes fire prevention especially important. The Telangana guidelines therefore address server halls, technical areas, power rooms, fuel storage, detection, suppression and emergency systems as connected safety concerns.

The article also notes that data centres usually have fewer people than conventional business buildings. That affects how the department frames the norms, but it does not remove the need for protection. The new rules seek to prevent fires, limit their spread, improve emergency preparedness and support continued investment in data-centre projects.