Teraco says that its Cape Town data centre is currently running on generator power as a result of a fire in the Great Westerford Building in Rondebosch, Cape Town.
Lex van Wyk, CEO of Teraco, says that the building has been evacuated and the fire department is in the in process of establishing the extent of the damage and the cause of the fire. “We are monitoring the environment from our Johannesburg and Durban sites and doing all we can to maintain uptime. Teraco’s most critical responsibility to clients is keeping their infrastructure functioning, despite disruptions.”
Van Wyk says that Teraco data centres utilise high-capacity, resilient generators that guarantee power availability even during metro-wide power outages. Together with substantial on-site diesel stockpiles and short-notice diesel refuelling contracts with multiple vendors at each data centre location, the electricity backup capabilities are extensive.
The fire occurred on the roof of the three-story building, while Teraco’s operations are located on the ground floor and in the basement. Due to the efficient work of the Cape Town fire department the damage seems to have been contained to the third floor and the roof.
Access to the building will be granted once the extent of the damage has been established and the site is deemed safe.
