x The Oregon data center fire began inside a power cabinet, authorities say

Recently, many hours fire Data Centers used by Elon Musk’s X Official fire investigations suggest that it may have started after electrical or mechanical problems with the power system.

Wired First report on fireIt occurred on May 22nd in Hillsboro, Oregon. Data Center Giant Digital Realty runs a 13-acre site and has been reported by several people familiar with the issue who previously told Wired that Musk-Run social platform X has a server.

Data center fires are rare, with around 20 well-known incidents over the past decade across thousands of facilities around the world. Various Researcher. However, the growing demand for generator AI technology relies on large clusters of advanced computers is Expand the size and Data Center Power Needs. A severe load can ultimately make your AI data center more vulnerable to fires due to overheating or malfunctions.

At X Data Center, firefighters initially believed Lithium-ion battery He may have been involved in the fire, but that was not true. Hillsborofire & Rescue says spokesman Piseth Pich.

The fire lit a Schneider Electric Galaxy VX Waste-Free Power (UPS) Cabinet. Fire Station Report Get it with a wired connection. The UPS system is the size of a vending machine, made of metal and plastic, and acts as a filter and temporary battery, providing consistent electricity in the event of a shutdown or other issue. They are common in data centers, industry experts say.

“The UPS, like batteries in electric vehicles, houses large battery packs that are susceptible to fires caused by electrical failures or temporary high loads,” says Shaolei Ren, an electrical and computer engineer at UC Riverside, who studies data centers.

Fire department investigators were unable to visually identify the cause of the UPS cabinet ignition, but the report found that electrical or mechanical failures in “complex electrical systems.” The direction of carbonization suggested that the fire had begun within the cabinet.

Digital Realty spokesman William Reynolds said the company “can confirm that the fire is inherently electrical and not due to lithium-ion batteries.” His colleague Helen Breesdale added that the company shared “relevant updates with affected customers” and “implemented improvements to prevent a recurrence.” They refused to elaborate on these statements.

Schneider Electric and Xai, which own X, did not respond to requests for comment.

According to the fire department, the firefighters arrived 11 minutes after the initial smoke warning. In the quality of life room on the second floor, they encountered floor-to-ceiling smoke and blew fire extinguishers into the burning cabinet. The report lists an estimated $260,000 of data center losses, including complete destruction of one power cabinet. Two adjacent parts were damaged. No injuries have been reported.

Russell Carroll, an electrical engineer whose California company Emi Sleuth helps investigate the fire, says inadequate cooling and temperature monitoring of the power system can lead to fires. “The poorly ventilated cabinets could have caused overheating to the battery,” he says, noting that the photographs in the scene “shown perforated panels that provide good ventilation.”