NorthC Data Centre Fire Disables Utrecht University and Public Transport Emergency System
A fire at a NorthC data centre in Almere knocked Utrecht University offline, disabled public transport emergency communications across Utrecht province, and triggered an NL-Alert across Flevoland. The incident exposes the physical fragility beneath the digital infrastructure the Netherlands is spending billions to expand, and the failure of organisations to plan for the possibility that a single data centre might go down.
May 7, 2026 – 2:12 pm
Brief Overview
- A fire at a data centre in Almere on Thursday morning caused widespread disruptions.
- All personnel were safely evacuated without injuries.
- The cascade of events exposed the vulnerability of critical infrastructure.
The fire broke out at approximately 8:30 a.m. at the rear of a facility operated by NorthC Datacenters, a Dutch colocation provider with 25 data centres across the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland.
The Fire and Its Impact
- Emergency Response: The fire was classified as a major incident within 40 minutes, activating a coordinated regional response.
- NL-Alert: A dense smoke plume prompted the Dutch government’s emergency broadcast system, NL-Alert, warning residents to close windows and doors.
- Precautionary Measures: Fire departments requested a crash tender from Lelystad Airport to cool a diesel fuel tank on-site as a precaution.
NorthC CEO Alexandra Schless confirmed the safe evacuation of all personnel but could not yet determine the cause or extent of damage. The emergency electricity installation at the data centre was reported lost.
About NorthC and its Clients
NorthC, formed through the merger of The Datacenter Group and NLDC in 2019, operates colocation facilities designed to Tier 3+ standards. They serve clients in education, research, government, and healthcare, including SURF, the Dutch organisation providing ICT infrastructure for education and research.