IT Baseline Protection Manual - The Information Warfare Site

Threats Catalogue - Force Majeure Remarks
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T 1.4 Fire
Apart from the direct damage caused by fire to a building or its equipment,
there may be consequential damage, the impact of which can attain disastrous
dimensions, especially for IT systems. Damage from the fire-fighting water
does not occur at the direct site of the fire. Such damage can also be found in
lower parts of the building. The burning of PVC generates chlorine gases
which, together with air moisture and the fire-fighting water, form
hydrochloric acid. In the event that such chlorine gases are spread via the air
conditioning system, this may lead to damage of sensitive electronic devices
in other areas far away from the site of the fire.
A fire is caused not only by negligent handling of combustible material (e.g.
Christmas candles, welding, soldering, etc.), but also by improper use of
electric devices (e.g. unattended coffee machines, overload on multiple plug
adapters).
The following, inter alia, can facilitate the spreading of a fire:
- wedging of fire doors;
- improper storage of combustible material;
- lack of fire detection devices;
- deficient fire prevention (e.g. lack of fire insulation along cable routes).
Example:
In the early 90s, a mainframe computer centre in the Frankfurt region was hit
by a disastrous fire, leading to the complete breakdown of the installations.
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IT-Baseline Protection Manual: Otober 2000