August 21, 2006

According to reports by CRM News, one of the most advanced communication hubs in the world, Fisher Plaza, crashed unexpectedly in Seattle on July 30, due to what the company calls a long list of malfunctions in the facility's electrical power system.

Comprised of two buildings, Fisher Plaza East at 197,000 square feet and Fisher Plaza West at 99,000 square feet, the facility is considered as one of the most secure data centers and telecommunications hubs in the Northwest and is capable of surviving major earthquakes and running for weeks on its own power.

Causes and consequences of the events are still in dispute and representatives of Fisher Plaza's owners declined numerous requests to comment on the events until August 10.

Fisher Plaza released a statement that read, "On Sunday, July 30 2006 Fisher Plaza experienced a Seattle City Light power outage that triggered a generator start and load transfer event."

However Seattle City Light representatives dispute Fisher Plaza's claim that there was a power outage on that date as it finds no record of any power abnormality within City Light's network serving downtown commercial customers at the time Fisher Plaza East went dark.

No other commercial customers that share Fisher Plaza's network reported an outage on that date.

City Light has extended an invitation to Fisher Plaza to meet with its engineers to discuss how to prevent a reoccurrence of the event, but Fisher Plaza has reportedly not yet responded.

Source: The WHIR