What are the fire and compliance implications of lithium in a data centre or building UPS?

This changed materially in 2026 and any current project should assume scrutiny. Reported in June 2026: Fire and Rescue NSW requires lithium-ion battery storage rooms in data centres to achieve a Fire Resistance Level of 240/240/240 for load-bearing elements, does not support reductions, and aligns sprinkler recommendations with NFPA 855:2026 for energy storage exceeding 50 kWh, a threshold that captures essentially every data centre lithium UPS. FRNSW’s reasoning is worth noting: cell- and module-level UL 9540A results “do not in isolation represent the credible fire scenario” for an enclosed compartment. FRNSW is not banning lithium; it is refusing a reduced fire-engineering standard for it. Also note that AS/NZS 5139 does not apply to UPS complying with AS 62040, the governing references are AS 62040, AS 3011 and AS 2676.