Aaron Velardi, Head of Business Development at Ramtech Global, explains why the sheer scale and complexity of modern data centre construction is making stronger fire risk governance, earlier detection, and more proactive prevention essential from day one.

The European data centre boom is reshaping the construction landscape. Driven by AI, cloud computing, and digital transformation, developers are building larger, denser, and more power-intensive facilities than ever before.

Across Europe, operational data centre capacity and development pipelines continue to expand rapidly. More than 21 GW of capacity is now operational, under construction, or in planning across EMEA, with growth accelerating year-on-year as hyperscale demand intensifies.

The UK sits at the centre of this expansion. London alone is expected to become the first European data centre market to exceed 2 GW of operational capacity within the next few years, supported by a development pipeline exceeding 1.5 GW.

Across Europe’s core digital infrastructure hubs, including Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Dublin, demand for capacity continues to outstrip supply. New facilities are being delivered at unprecedented scale to support the next generation of digital services.

Yet while attention often focuses on operational resilience, energy efficiency, and cooling innovation, a critical phase of risk is frequently overlooked: construction itself.

Modern hyperscale campuses can span hundreds of thousands of square feet, involve hundreds of workers, and integrate complex electrical and mechanical systems long before permanent fire protection infrastructure is operational. As a result, the construction phase may represent one of the most vulnerable points in a data centre’s lifecycle.

A rapidly evolving construction risk profile

The nature of data centre construction has changed dramatically over the past decade.

Earlier facilities were relatively compact buildings supporting modest IT loads. Today’s hyperscale developments resemble industrial campuses, integrating large-scale substations, backup generation, extensive cable infrastructure, and increasingly battery energy storage systems.

These elements can introduce elevated fire risk during construction, particularly when temporary electrical systems and high-energy infrastructure are being installed before permanent safety systems are commissioned.

At the same time, the scale of activity on modern sites creates operational complexity rarely seen in traditional commercial construction. Multiple contractors often operate simultaneously across vast construction zones, with heavy equipment, fuel storage, hot works, and temporary installations all present within incomplete structures.

International fire incident reporting illustrates the scale of the challenge. In the United States, fire departments respond to thousands of fires in structures under construction each year, resulting in significant financial losses and injuries. While regulatory environments differ, the underlying risk factors, including incomplete protection systems, temporary installations, and high levels of site activity, are common across construction projects worldwide.

For hyperscale data centre developments, even relatively small incidents can have major consequences. Construction delays, supply chain disruption, contractual disputes, and insurance implications can quickly escalate costs on projects valued in the hundreds of millions, or even billions, of pounds.

Moving beyond minimum compliance

One of the most persistent challenges in construction-phase fire safety is cultural rather than technical.

On many projects, fire protection measures during early construction phases remain limited to basic compliance requirements. Permanent fire detection and suppression systems are often prioritised only once buildings are close to completion, leaving earlier stages of construction dependent on temporary procedures such as fire watches or manual alarms.

However, many of the highest-risk activities, including electrical installation, hot works, fuel storage, and temporary power systems, frequently occur during those early phases.

Budget pressures and accelerated delivery schedules can also lead to safety measures being scaled back. Temporary detection systems, enhanced monitoring, or dedicated fire prevention roles may be viewed as optional rather than integral to project risk management.

For large infrastructure developments, this approach can prove costly. A single construction-phase fire can trigger project delays measured in months, increased insurance scrutiny, and reputational consequences for developers and contractors alike.

As the financial and strategic importance of data centres grows, the industry is increasingly recognising that temporary fire protection should be treated as a core component of risk management rather than a short-term compliance exercise.

Aligning global standards with UK practice

While there are currently no fire safety regulations designed specifically for data centre construction, several established frameworks offer guidance for managing fire risk during build phases.

In North America, the NFPA 241 Standard for Safeguarding Construction, Alteration and Demolition Operations is widely referenced. It sets out requirements for construction fire prevention programmes, defines responsibilities for project stakeholders, and provides guidance on temporary fire detection and suppression.

Although NFPA standards are not directly adopted in the UK, many of their underlying principles align closely with expectations within British and European regulatory frameworks.

In the UK, fire risk during construction is typically governed through a combination of legislation and industry guidance, including the Construction Design and Management Regulations, the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order, and the Joint Code of Practice on the Protection Against Fire of Construction Sites and Buildings Undergoing Renovation.

Together, these frameworks emphasise several consistent principles: clear accountability for fire risk management, documented fire prevention strategies, active monitoring of evolving site hazards, and coordination between contractors, project leaders, and emergency responders.

Large-scale infrastructure projects increasingly formalise these responsibilities through dedicated fire safety leads or managers tasked with overseeing fire prevention programmes throughout the construction lifecycle.

This reflects a broader industry shift. Fire safety is increasingly being treated as structured risk governance embedded within project management, rather than as a reactive compliance exercise.

The growing importance of early detection

Construction environments differ fundamentally from completed buildings. Site layouts evolve rapidly, electrical systems may be partially energised, and permanent life safety systems are often not yet operational.

These conditions mean incidents can develop unnoticed, particularly outside working hours when construction sites are largely unoccupied.

Analysis of construction-phase fires consistently highlights recurring causes, including hot works, temporary heating equipment, electrical faults, and deliberate fire-setting. Delayed detection can allow small incidents to escalate before emergency response teams are alerted.

For this reason, many large construction projects now adopt layered approaches to fire prevention and monitoring. These typically combine site procedures, designated fire safety personnel, and temporary detection systems that can be installed during early build phases and relocated as construction progresses.

Improved monitoring can also generate clearer records of alarms and incidents. In turn, these records can help project teams identify recurring hazards and refine prevention strategies as construction continues.

Building resilience into digital infrastructure

The rapid expansion of data centre construction reflects the growing importance of digital infrastructure to the global economy.

In the UK alone, annual investment in new data centres is forecast to reach £10 billion by the end of the decade, with dozens of new facilities planned to support AI-driven computing demand.

As the sector scales, construction safety must evolve alongside it.

Fire prevention during construction should not be viewed as a temporary obligation that disappears once permanent systems are installed. Instead, it needs to be built into project planning from the earliest stages, with clear ownership, robust monitoring, and proactive risk management maintained throughout the build.

Data centres are among the most critical facilities in modern society. Ensuring they are constructed safely, while protecting workers, assets, and project timelines, is an important part of delivering the resilient digital infrastructure on which economies increasingly depend.