Central Ohio fire department investigating hazards of data centers

DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) -- One of Ohio's most esteemed fire departments is investigating fire hazards associated with new data centers.

Washington Township trustees Stuart Harris and Chuck Kranstuber said they formally asked their fire chief to review data center fire hazards. Officials will report back in the coming weeks after speaking with neighboring departments and will recommend whether the township should pause future data center projects.

According to Data Center Map, 121 of Ohio's 193 data centers are in central Ohio, including in and around Washington Township. Harris said appropriately responding to data center emergencies takes a lot of planning and coordination. The township wants to thoroughly consider how data centers would impact safety departments.

"Inside is a vast maze and it's the size of several football fields," Harris said. "And so the firefighters have to know how to get in, help them get in quickly, what should they bring with them for fire suppression.”

Washington Township is the only township in Ohio to include parts of three counties, and it encompasses the entire city of Dublin. Officials' concerns are particularly noteworthy because Washington Township Fire Department is an elite agency.

Washington Township Fire has achieved the rare honor of being both ranked ISO-1 and accredited by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. Washington Township is one of just 117 departments in the U.S. to have achieved the honor, and one of just four in Ohio. Comparably, there are nearly 30,000 fire departments nationwide.

"So the fact that Washington is coming out and saying this is an issue -- in my opinion, they're a leader for fire safety," Dublin resident and data center awareness activist Amy Swank said. "So, other jurisdictions should be listening and really interested in what they have to say."

The International Association of Fire Fighters said agencies can't respond to data center fires like they would in other buildings. The buildings are massive with complex floor plans and feature expensive power infrastructure ripe for tricky chemical fires, like lithium ion batteries.

"You can have overheating equipment, electrical fires, if they're using lithium ion batteries for backup, that those are extraordinarily difficult to put out," Kranstuber said. "There might be diesel back up. And that raises a whole other set of problems, including air pollution."

Washington Township has a team of firefighters trained on lithium ion battery suppression and fire safety. Members are considered experts and train other departments on lithium ion fires across the country. The department recently responded to a lithium ion fire sparked by an electric scooter that hospitalized three, and the trustees said a data center fire would be much more intense.

"We're prepared, but the scale of these is unprecedented," Kranstuber said.

The township supplies mutual aid to neighboring Norwich and Jerome townships, meaning multiple departments will respond to a fire emergency and help one another. Washington's fire leadership is working with Norwich and Jerome Townships, as well as nearby Hilliard, to issue its recommendations to township trustees.

Washington Township's neighbors are also familiar with data centers. In September, Jerome Township paused data centers for nine months, citing utility strains and public safety concerns.

In Hilliard, the city is considering legal action over a proposed data center power system. While Hilliard was reviewing the idea, the application was withdrawn because the state had already approved the power system. Hilliard residents are upset the proposal is slated to continue without local input. See previous coverage of Hilliard's dilemma in the video player above.

Data centers are needed to power the technology most Ohioans rely on every day, from cellphones to streaming services. However, Harris said the influx of data centers has already diverted firefighters from other emergencies across Jerome, Norwich and Washington townships. The trustees are also concerned by the longevity of a data center.

"Technology is changing so rapidly. When this technology changes and these are no longer needed or there's some new or more compact way to handle it, then these huge facilities are just going to be eyesores on the communities that they're in," Kranstuber said.