A fire at a business park in Northamptonshire caused disruption to Internet service across the Midlands in the past week.
The blaze at JBJ business park broke out on Friday in a tiling warehouse, and spread to other units within the park, damaging equipment belonging to networks company Level 3. This knocked out internet services in the region up to 50 miles away.
The Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team were among the businesses disrupted by the blaze when they had to move their support team from their base in Brixworth to Brackley during last Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix. Their race preparations were not affected, however.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Level 3 said:
A fire originating in a building adjacent to Level 3’s network facility in Northampton spread to our facility, resulting in damage to equipment.
Our local technicians are working to restore services as quickly as possible, and we are in close contact with all affected customers.
At this time, we do not have an estimated time when all services will be restored.
Infrastructure
Businesses in the area have reported that their internet has been down for as much as five days since the blaze broke out, however many of the services have been temporarily re-routed to neighbouring exchanges. The problems facing businesses underlines the potential vulnerabilities that internet connections face, particularly in an era of digital communications being vital to business continuity.
One business owner called the disruption “catastrophic,” adding that “without doubt” they are losing trade.
The importance therefore of networks that are protected at the earliest stage from the risks of fire has never been greater.
In a blog in 2010, IT expert Tom Olzak gave these key requirements for a business-friendly fire suppression system:
- A detection system that detects actual fires.
- An alarm that includes both a loud noise and flashing lights.
- Portable fire extinguishers placed in critical locations.
- An emergency power-off switch.
- Emergency suppression system delay or cancel.
- A suppression agent that:
- doesn’t destroy your equipment; and
- doesn’t take so long to clean up that you pass right by your maximum tolerable downtime threshold.
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