IT Baseline Protection Manual - The Information Warfare Site

Safeguard Catalogue Infrastucture Remarks
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S 1.26 Emergency circuit-breakers
Initiation responsibility: Head of Site/Bldg Technical Service, Head of
IT Section
Implementation responsibility: Site/Bldg Technical Service
Installation of emergency circuit-breakers is advisable in rooms where
electrical devices are operated in such a way that, for instance, increased fire
hazards exist due to the waste heat of such devices, to compact installation of
equipment, or to the existence of additional fire loads. As staff is required to
activate the emergency circuit-breaker, it is only worth considering in areas in
which people are present all, or at least most, of the time. In areas which are
only sporadically occupied, if at all, an emergency shutdown through a device
for the early detection of a fire is considerably more effective.
Activation of an emergency circuit-breaker will eliminate a major source of
energy for any fire, and as a result, minor fires can go out. In any case, the risk
posed by voltages will be eliminated during fire-fighting operations.
A point to be borne in mind is that local systems for uninterruptable power
supply (ups) will, after the external power supply has been switched off,
automatically provide for power supply and that the respective devices will
remain live. Therefore, when installing an emergency circuit-breaker, it must
be ensured that also the UPS is switched off rather than being merely
separated from the external power supply.
The emergency circuit-breaker should be installed either in the room - next to
the entrance door - (possibly with a note, on the outside of the door, indicating
the location of the switch) or outside the room, next to its door. In this context,
however, it must be considered that such an emergency circuit-breaker may,
even in the absence of a threat, be activated inadvertently or intentionally.
Negative approach example:
In the server room of a medium sized agency, about ten servers, five laser
printers and other devices were installed. In terms of burglary protection, the
room was provided with appropriate walls, windows and doors. An emergency
circuit-breaker had not been provided. There were only two points from which
it was possible to disconnect this room from the power supply: the building
main distribution frame in the basement, or the distributing frame of the room.
However, the latter was located on the wall opposite the entrance door and
thus would have been almost inaccessible in case of fire.
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IT-Baseline Protection Manual: Oktober 2000