NFPA 75: Standard for the Fire Protection of Information Technology Equipment

Overview

NFPA 75 is the US standard for protecting IT equipment areas, available as free read-only access after registration. It offers two paths: a prescriptive path or a documented risk/performance-based approach, and the risk assessment in Chapter 4 can justify alternative protection. The facts on this page come not from the standard itself but from publicly available engineering-press summaries, notably CSE magazine.

The structural requirements are concrete: IT equipment rooms are separated from other occupancies by construction rated at least 1 hour, with 3/4-hour doors. On sprinklers, IT areas in sprinklered buildings must be sprinklered; in non-sprinklered buildings, sprinklers and/or a gaseous clean agent are used and water mist may be considered. For early warning, automatic smoke detection per NFPA 72 is required (Sec. 8.2).

A raised-floor void that holds combustibles or cables needs sprinkler or gaseous protection, and if only an under-floor gaseous system is used, the agent must be CO2 or an inert gas. The standard also addresses emergency power off (EPO) and utilities. The 2024 edition added requirements for ITE immersion cooling equipment. The authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) has the final word.

Key points

1. IT rooms separated from other occupancies by at least 1-hour rated construction; doors 3/4-hour.
2. Sprinklered buildings: IT areas sprinklered; non-sprinklered: sprinklers and/or gaseous clean agent (water mist may be considered).
3. Automatic smoke detection per NFPA 72 is required for early warning (Sec. 8.2).
4. A raised-floor void with combustibles or cables needs sprinkler or gaseous protection; under-floor-only gaseous means CO2 or inert gas.
5. The 2024 edition adds requirements for immersion cooling equipment.
6. The Chapter 4 risk assessment can justify alternative protection.

Using it in design

• Defaults for white space in NFPA jurisdictions: 1-hour rated walls, 3/4-hour doors and rated fire/smoke dampers at penetrations.
• Detection default is NFPA 72 smoke plus optional VESDA; suppression default is pre-action sprinkler with optional clean agent (check room integrity and hold time).
• If immersion tanks are placed, flag the NFPA 75-2024 immersion provisions.
• Add an "AHJ governs" note to every output.

Who should read it

Engineers designing fire protection for an IT hall under US codes.

Related standards

• NFPA 75
• NFPA 72
• NFPA 13
• NFPA 2001
• NFPA 76

Publication details

Authors

NFPA

Publisher

NFPA

Year

2024

Document number

NFPA 75-2024

Document language

English

Source type

Standard

Access

Citation only

Licence

Copyright retained; citation only — the publisher’s terms apply to the original document

Citation