Data Center Safety Starts with Community Partnerships 

When people think about data center safety, they often focus on systems inside the building. What matters just as much is what happens outside of it. 

Safety depends on coordination, preparation, and the ability to act quickly with local emergency responders, not just designing protocols in isolation. 

Building Relationships for Data Center Safety

While advanced detection and suppression systems are essential, the foundation of data center safety is people. We invest time in building strong relationships with local fire departments, emergency responders, and municipal leaders, often before a facility even opens. 

Inviting crews to tour the building, understand the layout, and share insights ensures that our plans are practical and actionable. These interactions aren’t one-time events, rather, they are ongoing partnerships and a key part of emergency response collaboration.

At our Northlake, IL campus we hosted multiple days of joint training, bringing together the Northlake Fire Department and our O’Hare (ORD) operations teams to build a shared team atmosphere. In Elk Grove Village, we’ve worked directly with local responders in a similar way, reinforcing familiarity with our facilities and response protocols. We replicate this approach across campuses to maintain a consistent level of readiness and alignment with local responders. 

Operationalizing Safety Across Every Campus

Safety is at the core of everything we do—from how we design and operate our facilities to how we engage with the communities around us.   Our Safety Committee is responsible for ensuring safety standards are met and continuously improved across all locations. Each year, we conduct more than 40 drills and 160 training sessions across our campuses, reinforcing preparedness at every level.

All operations team members complete OSHA 10 certification within their first month, establishing a consistent baseline for safety practices from day one.

When operators and local responders train together, response times improve, coordination is stronger, and the burden on local resources is reduced. For communities, that means infrastructure that is better understood, better prepared, and more integrated into the local environment.  

Learn more about our approach to safety and how we’re working to keep our people, our customers, and our communities safe.