The Data Center Boom

The race to cash in on artificial intelligence has triggered a data center building boom that is quickly becoming the largest infrastructure effort of our time. With these enormous facilities being built all over the world, an army of safety professionals is now racing to understand the complex systems in data centers and mitigate their hazards, even as the technology inside continues to rapidly evolve. Today on the podcast, we welcome Michael Brune, one of those safety experts on the frontlines of overseeing safety during the data center buildout. As the fire marshal of Goodyear, Arizona, a suburb of Pheonix, Brune and his office review designs and issue permits for data centers, and oversee construction and inspections. He's had a lot to do. The city now has at least 30 data centers in various stages of completion, most of which have gone up in just the last few years. Brune shares his experiences and lessons learned as an AHJ overseeing several enormous data center projects, and what it's like playing a high-stakes safety tug-of-war with some of the richest corporations on earth. LINKS: Read the cover story of the NFPA Journal, "Fast, Furious, Immense." Learn more about NFPA 75, Standard for Fire Protection of Information Technology Equipment

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The Data Center Boom is an episode from NFPA Journal Podcast by NFPA.

This episode is 01:02:57 long.

This episode was published on Feb 24, 2026.

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