If water is heading toward an IT room right now
Only act where it is safe. Never stand in water near energized equipment.
- Alert the tenant's IT contact so they can begin an orderly shutdown of servers and storage if needed.
- Cover racks and equipment with plastic sheeting from the top if water is dripping from above.
- Lift portable devices, cabling bins and boxes of media off the floor.
- Move paper records away from the drip line; do not try to dry wet files with heat.
- Close the room door and place absorbent barriers at the threshold if water is moving across the floor.
- Tell building engineering if the room has dedicated cooling, since condensate or chilled-water lines may also be involved.
Two workers in hard hats on a demolished rooftop with the Denver skyline behind. Illustrative image of the process; it does not document a job done for this site.
Why these rooms are vulnerable
Tenant network closets are often small rooms carved out of the core, near plumbing walls and below supplemental cooling units. Those units produce condensate, and a clogged drain line or a failed pump can leak right above the rack. Server rooms in older buildings may also sit below restrooms or break rooms on the floor above.
Wet electronics should be assessed by the tenant's IT provider or the equipment manufacturer, not powered back up to see if they work. Water and mineral residue can cause damage that shows up later, and powering wet equipment risks further harm. Specialist electronics cleaning exists for some situations; ask the insurer and IT provider whether it makes sense versus replacement.
Paper is a separate track. Wet business records can sometimes be frozen and later dried by document recovery specialists. Speed matters: once mold begins on paper, recovery is harder. Ask the tenant to decide quickly which files are vital, which are duplicated elsewhere, and which can be discarded.
Who handles what
- Item
- Servers, switches, storage
- Usually decided by
- Tenant and its IT provider
- Notes
- Shut down in order; do not restart wet gear without assessment.
- Item
- Supplemental cooling unit
- Usually decided by
- Building engineering or HVAC vendor
- Notes
- Check condensate drain and pump; often the source of the leak.
- Item
- Ceiling, walls, flooring in the room
- Usually decided by
- Owner or tenant, depending on the lease
- Notes
- Drying and replacement follow the lease's split of responsibility.
- Item
- Paper records
- Usually decided by
- Tenant
- Notes
- Freeze or pack quickly if they are vital and wet.
- Item
- Fire suppression in the room
- Usually decided by
- Fire protection vendor
- Notes
- Clean-agent or sprinkler systems should be checked after any water event.
General information for Downtown Denver, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.