Mitigating data center fire risks with FM Approved materials, panels, and more

On May 22, 2025, a fire that began inside an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) cabinet at a data center in Oregon was contained - after it destroyed a single cabinet and damaged another. On September 26, 2025, a data center fire at South Korea’s National Information Resources Service destroyed 96 systems in the server room where it started, before spreading to additional server rooms resulting in a total of 330 damaged systems. Data center fires can cost data center operators anywhere from $250,000 to over $500,000 per hour of outage, underscoring the considerable economic impact of fires in these facilities.

Events like these demonstrate how a small ignition source, even in environments designed to be reliable and resilient, can escalate into significant events with financial and operational consequences. Fires in data centers can cause the damaging outages that threaten both critical infrastructure and the continuity of the businesses that depend on it.

Mitigating this risk requires more than just fire suppression systems. It begins with the materials and panels that make up the facility itself. FM Approvals has examination standards that address these critical points of control with: FM 4910 for cleanroom materials and FM 4884 for hot and cold aisle containment panels. Together, these standards provide testing and certification protocols that serve as a foundation for the evaluation of products designed to detect or control the ignition, smoke and flame spread of a fire.

Three standards, one layered approach to resilience

Cleanroom materials, containment panels, and cable fire coatings address different aspects of fire behavior, but together they can impact how a facility is designed to mitigate and address critical moments of potential fire events.

• FM 4910: Cleanroom Materials: FM 4910 is a testing protocol applied to individual materials. Based on ASTM E2058, the protocol measures ignition, heat release and smoke development to determine whether a material will accelerate fire growth. Products that undergo this testing often include rigid plastics, CPVC or PVC components, and fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP). By confirming that these materials resist ignition and limit smoke, FM 4910 provides assurance that the components used in cleanroom or data center equipment will not contribute to fire escalation.
• FM 4884: Hot and Cold Aisle Containment Panels: FM 4884 addresses performance at the system level. It requires full-scale fire testing of wall and ceiling panels that separate hot and cold aisles, verifying that entire assemblies can resist flames and prevent smoke from propagating across long rows of equipment. Certification to FM 4884 gives operators and manufacturers confidence that the containment structure is designed to optimize airflow and cooling will also serve as barriers against fire spread, directly influencing the resilience of the overall facility.
• FM 3972: Cable Fire Propagation: FM 3972 is applicable to various types of electrical cables having outer insulating coatings or metallic sheath, which may be used for commercial and industrial purposes including electrical, data, communications, robotic usage, and optical cables. Certification to FM 3972 ensures that FM Approved cables demonstrate the ability to limit the spread of fire.

Together, these standards form a layered defense; FM 4910 reduces ignition potential at the material’s developmental level, FM 4884 certifies that the containment system itself will resist and control fire once it starts, and FM 3972 reduces the likelihood of fire spread to other areas of a data center or other facility.

The business case for testing and certification

Data center operators measure reliability in absolute terms: continuous uptime, uninterrupted service and proven resilience. For manufacturers, this creates both an obligation and an advantage — to prove that their products are engineered for fire performance, meet global project specifications and deliver the credibility required to compete in one of the fastest-growing infrastructure markets.

Here are four ways testing and certification support manufacturers in meeting these demands:

1. Credibility in the marketplace: Certification provides manufacturers of cleanroom materials, containment panels, and other loss prevention products with independent verification that their products meet established fire performance benchmarks. In practice, this credibility serves multiple functions: it signals reliability to operators, satisfies the requirements of project specifications and reduces uncertainty for contractors tasked with building or retrofitting facilities. Because FM Approvals or Specification Listed products are globally recognized and often specified in project requirements, tested and certified. Products give manufacturers confirmation that these solutions will perform as expected in a global data center environment.
2. Proven performance: Testing is conducted at full scale, and products are evaluated in the same dimensions and configurations they would be used in a facility. Panels are subjected to flame spread and smoke development tests across their entire size, not just small samples. Ductwork may be tested in sections up to 24 feet long, with ignition sources applied to measure whether flames propagate along the system. Even cooling towers are tested at full size, burned under controlled conditions to observe structural performance. This approach ensures results reflect how a material or system behaves in practice, rather than relying on bench-scale evaluations that may not capture the true risks of fire growth in a data center environment.
3. Ongoing accountability: All FM Approvals certifications are maintained through regular surveillance audits. Manufacturing facilities are audited regularly confirm that products continue to match the specifications that were originally tested. Any change in raw materials, processes or formulations must be reported and reviewed, with re-testing carried out if necessary. Products must also carry proper labeling. This process ensures that performance is not only demonstrated at one point in time in the lab but consistently upheld in ongoing production.
4. Product development advantage: For many manufacturers, the FM Approvals certification process becomes an extension of internal research and development, with initial failures driving refinements and resubmissions. Over time, the cycle produces stronger, safer products and elevates industry standards. This process turns certification into more than a pass/fail exercise. It becomes part of a continuous improvement cycle that raises the performance standard across the industry.

Building resilience in a market that can’t afford downtime

The global data center market is projected to reach $652 billion by 2030, driven by rising demand for cloud computing, AI, and digital infrastructure. With this growth comes greater density, higher energy loads, and increased reliance on uninterrupted operations. In an environment where downtime costs can reach millions of dollars per hour, fire performance is not optional but fundamental to resilience.

FM Approvals examination standards such as FM 4910 for cleanroom materials and FM 4884 for hot and cold aisle containment panels establish benchmarks that reflect these realities. By evaluating ignition, smoke, and flame spread at both the material and system level, they provide manufacturers with a framework to design products that meet the escalating demands of modern facilities.

Looking ahead, testing and certification will remain central to how the industry manages emerging risks. For manufacturers, aligning with these standards is both a safeguard against loss and a way to contribute to the long-term reliability of an industry that cannot afford to fail.

Contact FM Approvals to begin the process of testing and certifying cleanroom materials, containment panels, and other loss prevention products used in data centers and other critical environments. Visit the Approval Guide to access tens of thousands of FM Approved products with essential engineering data - technical information.