As part of its risk prevention policy, ST Digital conducted, on Tuesday 10 June 2025, a fire drill simulation in collaboration with the 201st fire and rescue unit.
On Tuesday 10 June 2025, the ST Digital datacenter conducted a fire simulation exercise in collaboration with the 201st firefighters' unit. More than twenty employees took part in this exercise, the objective of which was to test the responsiveness of teams in an emergency situation and to validate the effectiveness of internal safety systems. "Fire safety is one of the primary risks for a datacenter, so training our teams is of critical importance," explains Jean-Francis Ahanda, Cloud and Datacenter Services Director at ST Digital.
A fire outbreak scenario was simulated in a strategic area of the datacenter. Once the alert was triggered, internal teams were mobilized on an emergency basis, followed by the intervention of firefighters who arrived 15 minutes after the alarm was activated. They proceeded to locate the source of the fire in the control room in order to analyze the trigger of the simulated incident.
Following the evacuation, a debriefing brought together the participants of the drill. The procedures were detailed to clarify each person's role during an alert. "To reach the assembly point, you must follow the rear marshal who evacuated you, then the lead marshal tasked with guiding you," recalls Pierre Sébastien Songwa Tchinda, Lead Infrastructure Datacenter Services at ST Digital.
Lieutenant Gnoundji Wilfried, from the 201st fire brigade unit, commended the staff's discipline. "I did not see people panic or run; that is commendable. You should never try to save a machine: you are the priority," he stated.
A formative exercise
On the personal side, feedback has been unanimously positive. According to these employees, the exercise allowed them to better understand the right reflexes to adopt. "I understood the importance of remaining at the assembly point until the end — it is essential to ensure that everyone has evacuated", says Rolande Kana, cybersecurity analyst at ST Digital. "The organisation was well managed, the evacuation was carried out without panic, in complete safety", adds Samuel Bille, SOC Director and Services Manager.
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By investing in automatic fire suppression systems and the continuous training of its staff, ST Digital reinforces its commitment to a 100% African, reliable, and secure cloud; the company having made data and personnel security a strategic pillar in a constantly evolving digital environment.
"It is quite costly, but that is not what matters. The objective is to guarantee high availability of services to our clients," states Jean-Francis Ahanda.
Recommendations to go even further
Fire safety experts issued several recommendations to ST Digital, including continuing regular internal training, strengthening security briefings for new employees, and maintaining active collaboration with firefighters to update intervention procedures.