On September 16th 2024 at 11:20 UTC, emergency services have proceeded to evacuate the whole industrial zone where our Erith datacenter is located. The evacuation was ordered due to safety concerns related to a nearby building inside which a fire occurred.
At 11:30 today UTC, local authorities have permitted to gain access to our datacenter. Risks have completely been eliminated in the area and return to business as usual is in progress. We are happy to share our teams are now back in the datacenter marking the end of this event.
As from the beginning of this incident, teams have been fully committed to make sure there is no impact to services delivered to our customers. Throughout all the event all services were and are operating normally.
We take this opportunity to thank local authorities, police, fire brigades, and all respondents, for their ongoing efforts in ensuring everyone' safety.
We thank our customers for their patience and remain at their disposal in case they have any question

Update from OVH

On September 16th 2024 at 11:20 UTC, emergency services have proceeded to evacuate the whole industrial zone where our Erith datacenter is located. The evacuation was ordered due to safety concerns related to a nearby building inside which a fire occurred.
Safety of our teams and facilities is our first priority: all our teams have been evacuated and are safe, and we have fully cooperated with local authorities.

Since then, there has been no direct impact to services delivered to our customers. However scheduled maintenance are being delayed. :

At 6:15 UTC today local authorities expected to lift the cordon within the morning then postponed the event to the afternoon. As of now, the cordon around the area has not been lift but reduced from 500m to 200m, as the fire extinguishing efforts are progressing.
Our datacenter being located 150m from the incident, we are still unable to gain access currently.

All along this event, we have been in direct contact with both the local council and fire brigade, and we will keep updating this communication as soon as we have more information.
We thank in advance our customers for their understanding as we navigate this exceptional event.

A spokesperson for London Fire Brigade said: "Firefighters are responding to a protracted fire at an industrial site in #Erith, involving a corkscrew conveyor belt at a processing facility.

"As part of our response, a cordon has been put in place, closing part of the A2016 and impacting a number nearby businesses.

"Firefighters are working hard to bring the incident under control and limit further disruption.

"Operations will continue through the day and may extend into tomorrow.

"Further information will be provided later today."

Latest report indicates the London Fire Brigade is still dealing with the fire. Access may not be granted today as planned.

The situation continues to remain stable. Access back to the datacentre should be granted later this morning. No interruption of service has been experienced or is planned. However service remains at heightened risk.

News reporting of the fire in the vicinity of the OVH London datacentre - https://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/24588886.church-manorway-belvedere-factory-fire-road-closures/

We have been notified the physical situation is stable. We continue to monitor

Please be aware, there is an active incident at OVH's London datacentre which has caused the area to be evacuated. We are ensuring disaster recovery plans are being prepared should they be needed.

A nearby factory has caught on fire, and presents a risk of explosion. All roads around the factory and the area including multiple distribution centres for the likes of Ocado and Tesco have also been evacuated.