Fike Corporation News

On September 24th, 2004 BRS-Intron, a computer company based in Visby, Sweden, averted what could have been a major disaster. Because it is a full-service company, specializing in complete product solutions, servicing, and financing, BRS-Intron’s business is heavily dependent on the continuous operation of its business systems. For this reason, it chose Fike Corporation’s FM-200® (HFC-227ea) clean agent fire suppression system for the protection of its computer equipment. T...

In 2003, Jeffrey Energy Center (JEC), the largest coal-fired plant in Kansas, was recognized by the Powder River Basin (PRB) Coal User’s Group as its PRB Plant of the Year. Industry recognition was achieved through plant safety, plant performance, environmental achievements, and overall plant cleanliness. Over the years JEC has undertaken several projects and process changes to further improve the plant. Enhancements to the fire detection and suppression systems have been a vital part of...

Liberty University, located in Lynchburg, VA, is committed to providing quality education within a Christian environment. They are proud to represent more than 15,000 students from all fifty states and over seventy countries around the world. Their campus spans over 5,000 acres making it the largest evangelical higher educational facility in the United States. Because of the size of the property, the campus employs its emergency response team, responsible for monitoring over 80 buildings for fi...

In the spring of 2005, the Central Jackson County Fire Protection District (CJCFPD) updated the dispatching system at its Adams Dairy Parkway location in Blue Springs, Missouri. The updates included creating a state-of-the-art 911 call center complete with a sophisticated computer, CAD network, and emergency response equipment. Mindful of the necessity to protect the high-value, new equipment, and its important service to the community, CJCFPD called on a long-term partner, Fike Corporation, an...

The new Mystique Community Ice Center opened its doors in Dubuque, Iowa just in time to meet the chill that’s in the air. Home to the United States Hockey League’s expansion team, the Fighting Saints, the 3,200 seat arena is dedicated to all things ice. Since the Ice Center, like any sporting venue, may contain large amounts of people at any given time, the Local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) required a voice evacuation system to be included in the overall life safety solution...

Has the advent of “cloud computing” reduced the need for automatic fire suppression systems in data centers? There have been many discussions in the Information Technology, Telecom, and Fire Suppression industries recently regarding this topic. With data stored and backed up in multiple, different physical locations, one line of thinking says there is less need for an automatic fire suppression system. A fire or other catastrophic event, at worst, results in the loss of relatively i...

Wharton Esherick (1878-1970) was an artist who produced paintings, decorative frames, woodcuts, sculptures, and furniture. While Esherick’s work is displayed in major American museums and private collections, a large compilation of his work is found in his studio. His studio has been preserved and maintained since his death, enabling visitors to learn more about the artist’s life as well as view his work. With so many valuable artifacts and artwork in one studio, a superior fire pro...

Southern Supply Company is a wholesale distributor located in Springfield, Missouri. Southern Supply has a critical data center through which it handles all of its business activity, from shipping and receiving to accounting, for its 12 locations in Missouri and Kansas. Because it is key to the operation of its business, Southern Supply decided to protect its data center with a clean agent fire suppression system, rather than just a traditional sprinkler system. By choosing a clean-ag...

On the evening of April 3, 2009, a financial institution located in downtown Chicago was protected from the possibility of a large fire. Earlier that evening, an electrical component in the self-contained air conditioning unit had overheated and caught fire. The AC unit was located near highly sensitive equipment in a computer room. Fortunately, the computer room was protected with a Fike clean agent suppression system, using the gaseous chemical suppressant, DuPont™ FM-200® — d...

Clean agents include both chemical agents (3M™ Novec™ 1230 Fire Protection Fluid, FM-200, ECARO-25®) and inert gases (PROINERT®), all of which are ideal for protecting servers, electronics, artwork, archives, and more. They produce none of the collateral damage often associated with sprinkler systems. Best of all, they are safe for people and the environment. Clean Agent Suppression Benefits Additional benefits that clean agent suppression systems have...

The Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE)™ in Lafayette, LA is a state-of-the-art 3D immersive visualization resource center featuring one of the world’s first six-sided, digital virtual reality cubes, as well as the world’s largest digital 3-D theatre. This leading-edge visualization environment is powered by one of the largest shared memory resources in the world, a 4.1TB of RAM high-performance computing system. The LITE facility, a State entity governed by a B...

San Carlos, CA, located midway between San Francisco and San Jose, has been a magnet for families, due in large part to the small size and high educational value the San Carlos School District offers. To maintain this standard, the district has undertaken a large facility modernization project, affecting multiple schools. To continue the project throughout the school year, the district set up temporary housing for displaced classrooms, creating a unique and immediate need for stand-alone fire a...

In April, 2009, a financial institution located in downtown Chicago was protected from the possibility of a large fire. Earlier that evening, an electrical component in the self-contained air conditioning unit had overheated and caught fire. The AC unit was located in close proximity to highly sensitive equipment in a computer room. Fortunately, the computer room was protected with a Fike clean agent suppression system, using the gaseous chemical suppressant, DuPont™ FM-200® — d...

The Hammersmith Hospital in London, UK, has a very busy radiology room for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-ray procedures. The different apparatuses within this room and its corresponding data control room are very expensive equipment which were protected from fire by a Halon fire suppression system. Regulation 2037/2000 We know that Halon is damaging the ozone layer and adding to the global warming problem. Therefore, the European Community has issued a regulation 2037/2000 which makes...

In 2005, the Central Jackson County Fire Protection District (CJCFPD) updated the dispatching system at its Adams Dairy Parkway location in Blue Springs, Missouri. The updates included creating a state-of-the-art 911 call center complete with a sophisticated computer, CAD network and emergency response equipment. Mindful of the necessity to protect the high-value, new equipment and its important service to the community, CJCFPD called on long-term partner, Fike Corporation, and their local dist...

Fike Corporation recently earned the right to protect a large and unique library complex located in Mexico. The library is a four story structure built to house millions of literary volumes, and also includes an auditorium, administrative offices, library stacks and reading rooms. The library also boasts large centralized computer services designed to bring greater computer access to the library visitors. The unique library architecture, high-tech equipment and massive literature collection pre...

A U.S.-based division of a cosmetic manufacturer employs high-value data center technology to maintain their day-to-day operations. Protecting this high-value asset equipment from fire is essential and had been accomplished with a Halon fire extinguishing system. However, it is now known that Halon is damaging the ozone and adding to the global warming problem. In response, the European Community issued regulation 2037/2000, making the removal of Halon mandatory by 2003. The European-based corp...

The new Mystique Community Ice Center opened its doors in Dubuque, Iowa just in time to meet the chill that’s in the air. Home to the United States Hockey League’s expansion team, the Fighting Saints, the 3,200 seat arena is dedicated to all things ice. Since the Ice Center, like any sporting venue, may contain large amounts of people at any given time, the Local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) required a voice evacuation system be included in the overall life safety solution pr...

In 2003, Jeffrey Energy Center (JEC), the coal-fired plant in Kansas, was recognized by the Powder River Basin (PRB) Coal User’s Group as its PRB Plant of the Year. Industry recognition was achieved through plant safety, plant performance, environmental achievements and overall plant cleanliness. Over the years JEC has undertaken a number of projects and process changes to further improve the plant. Enhancements to the fire detection and suppression systems have been a vital part of the p...

A Louisiana-based paint additive manufacturer experienced a Halon 1301 system discharge in their Rack Room that is vital to the day-to-day operations of the company. Seeking a Halon refill, the company called Fike’s distributor, C & S Safety Systems, in New Iberia, Louisiana who in turn presented ECARO-25®. After learning the many advantages of ECARO-25, this customer agreed to install this exciting product as long as the installation time would be equal to that of recharging the...

The Colruyt supermarket chain has become a successful company by offering the best available and most reasonable ‘discount’ on goods to consumers. To preserve the ‘lowest prices’ and to remain at the forefront with competitive products, Colruyt made substantial investments into computer technology and integrated a high-technology information system which runs non-stop 365 days a year. Needless to say, a highly relied upon asset of this type is essential to the continuous...

On September 24th, 2004 BRS-Intron, a computer company based in Visby, Sweden, averted what could have been a major disaster. Because it is a full-service company, specializing in complete product solutions, servicing and financing, BRS-Intron’s business is heavily dependent on the continuous operation of its business systems. For this reason, it chose Fike Corporation’s FM-200® (HFC-227ea) clean agent fire suppression system for the protection of its computer equipment. This fa...

San Carlos, CA, located midway between San Francisco and San Jose, has been a magnet for families, due in large part to the small size and high educational value the San Carlos School District offers. In an effort to maintain this standard, the district has undertaken a large facility modernization project, affecting multiple schools. In order to continue the project throughout the school year, the district set up temporary housing for displaced classrooms, creating a unique and immediate need...

Southern Supply Company is a wholesale distributor located in Springfield, Missouri. Southern Supply has a critical data center through which it handles all of its business activity, from shipping and receiving to accounting, for its 12 locations in Missouri and Kansas. Because it is key to the operation of its business, Southern Supply made the decision to protect their data center with a clean agent fire suppression system, rather than just a traditional sprinkler system. By choosing a clean-...

The Hampton Inn & Suites in Moline, Illinois is known for its cleanliness and comfort. Conveniently located near the Quad City International Airport, this newly constructed hotel boasts of 98 guest rooms, a fitness center, indoor pool, business center, and a breakfast area among its other services. With the help of Heartland Fire and Fike Alarm Systems, this Hampton Inn can add safety to its long list of amenities. Due to local fire codes, and the facility’s large number of rooms and...

Wharton Esherick (1878-1970) was an artist who produced paintings, decorative frames, woodcuts, sculpture and furniture. While Esherick’s work is displayed in major American museums and private collections, a large compilation of his work is found in his studio. His studio has been preserved and maintained since his death, enabling visitors to learn more about the artist’s life as well as view his work. With so many valuable artifacts and artwork in one studio, a superior fire prote...

The Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) in Lafayette, LA is a state-of-the-art 3D immersive visualization resource center featuring one of the world’s first six-sided, digital virtual reality cubes, as well as the world’s largest digital 3-D theater. This leading-edge visualization environment is powered by one of the largest shared memory resources in the world, a 4.1TB of RAM high performance computing system. The LITE facility, a State entity governed by a Board of...

Anaheim Hills, CA, devoted to preserving the natural beauty of their community, has built the nation’s first underground electrical switching station. With only a three-tiered retaining wall and metal door showing above the substation, lies a gorgeous park, complete with running paths and quaint park benches. The Park Substation is an innovation of the city’s public utilities department in cooperation with the local neighborhoods, resulting in a new recreation area, rather than an un...

Liberty University, located in Lynchburg, VA, is committed to providing quality education within a Christian environment. They are proud to represent more than 15,000 students from all fifty states and over seventy countries around the world. Their campus spans across 5,000 acres making it the largest evangelical higher educational facility in the United States. Because of the size of the property, the campus employs their own emergency response team, responsible for monitoring over 80 building...

The ability of dust explosions to propagate is widely recognized but not fully understood, and this can lead to some myths or misconceptions. Fike touches on these myths, however, it does not provide complete technical information. do not propagate against process flow When a dust deflagration takes place in a vented vessel, the resulting reduced explosion pressure reaches and temporarily exceeds the static opening pressure of the explosion vent panel. Because the pressure differential from t...