Case Studies

Municipal Water Supply Facility Fire

An electrical fire damaged the main pump drive cabinet at a remote municipal water supply facility, disrupting critical operations. Restoration was crucial for the installation of the replacement cabinet. AREPA swiftly decontaminated the equipment, completing the project on time.

Fire at a Food Processing Facility

A food processing facility faced a significant setback after a fire caused extensive structural damage, as well as widespread smoke and soot contamination, leading to a complete halt in operations. Critical electrical systems were compromised, and production areas were shut down, disrupting supply chains nationwide. AREPA quickly deployed a team to restore nearly all affected equipment.

Laboratory Equipment Restoration After University Flood

A university experienced significant flooding after an explosion caused a water pipe to burst, damaging laboratory equipment across multiple floors. Despite the challenges, AREPA was able to restore the majority of the affected laboratory equipment, minimizing the need for replacements and reducing downtime.

Metal Fabrication Facility Fire

A metal forming and fabrication facility experienced a fire originating from an exhaust fan behind a polisher, causing extensive smoke and heat damage. Essential equipment and structural elements were severely affected, necessitating urgent replacements and restoration efforts.

University Data Center Fire

A battery backup control unit in a data center caused a fire, disrupting crucial equipment for the University's operations. Replacing the damaged equipment would have been both costly and time-consuming. Restoration efforts saved the University hundreds of thousands of dollars and resulted in a faster recovery of the data center operations.

Fire at a Door Production Facility

A company based in the Nordic region that specializes in producing a wide variety of door types suffered a loss when a fire broke out in the bottom of one of its CNC machines, damaging the technical production installation.

Mitigating Further Risk in Wind Energy Test Center

A near-shore wind test center in the Nordic region experienced a critical problem when two load coils were contaminated with salt deposits from the air, which caused minor arching, resulting in soot accumulation and damage.

Fire at a Professional Laundry Service Facility

A laundry service provider in the Netherlands that caters to hotels and restaurants recently experienced a significant setback due to a fire that damaged its equipment and resulted in extended downtime.

Fire Onboard Container Vessel

A container vessel faced a setback when a fire broke out in the vicinity of the auxiliary boiler on the first platform deck. As a result, many of the ship's vital components and equipment were severely contaminated. AREPA was quickly deployed to evaluate the level of contamination and initiate restorative measures.

Metal Fabrication Facility Fire

A manufacturing company specializing in metal stamping and custom sheet metal fabrication suffered damage when a fire broke out in a dust collector located outside the facility. The fire caused smoke, soot, and fire extinguishing affluents to spread throughout the building. AREPA was called to help get the facility up and running as soon as possible.

Ice Cream Production Facility Fire

When a fire broke out in the processing area of an ice cream production facility, the processing equipment was contaminated with smoke, soot, and water. With the need to get the production area of the facility back up and running as soon as possible, AREPA was tasked to perform equipment restoration.

Fire Onboard Transporter of Liquid Propane

A global transporter of liquid propane experienced a setback after a fire occurred on one of the three main onboard electric generators in the engine room, resulting in a loss. Fortunately, the transporting company had prior connections with one of AREPA's Senior Directors, making the restoration decision easier. Following the incident, AREPA was quickly onsite to perform the decontamination.

Fire at Chocolate Factory

A specialty chocolate factory manufacturer experienced a loss when a portable heating unit caught fire. Food-grade equipment was contaminated after the production floor was engulfed in smoke and soot.

Automotive Wiring Harness Warehouse Fire

A fire developed in a warehouse of an automotive wiring harnesses manufacturer. Smoke and soot permeated throughout the facility, contaminating inventory. The fire gravely affected the company’s ability to meet its shipping demands to prominent U.S. based car companies, with outbound orders coming to a complete halt. Following the incident, AREPA was requested to perform the decontamination.

Tornado Strikes Technology Warehouse

On the night of March 2 and into the early morning of March 3, 2020, a large storm produced ten tornadoes across southeast Missouri, southern Kentucky, Tennessee, and central Alabama. One of these storms was an EF3 tornado that traveled approximately 50 miles. In Mount Juliet, TN, a large warehouse that contained financial, technical equipment was caught in its reckless path.

Georgia High School Damaged by Tornado

In March of 2021, an EF-4 tornado wreaked havoc in Newnan, Georgia. In its path was a high school that was severely damaged by strong winds. Eight out of ten buildings were left with compromised roofs, shattered windows, and water damage. Among the devastation experienced inside the building was widespread water exposure to technology equipment used throughout the school’s classrooms.

Keeping the National Danish Railways on Track with Preventive Maintenance

The National Danish Railways (DSB) has partnered with AREPA on several large restoration projects following severe fire damage. Following these restoration projects, DSB contacted AREPA to discuss options for improving and optimizing the operation stability of their fleet of IC3 train set drive sections.

Norwegian Power Container Struck by Lightning

A Norwegian company invented a 20-foot closed ship container with a built-in converter letting shore power in and converting it to the ship’s needs. During idle connection based in Stavanger, Norway, this unit was struck by lightning. The producer was alerted about smoke and electrical failure and upon arrival, opened a smoke-filled container.

Honey Production Centrifuge Fire

In Mid Jutland, Denmark, a honey production facility experienced a loss when a centrifuge caught fire. As the operator entered the room, the electricity was cut off and the room was filled with smoke that covered the whole area with a sticky soot. The inside carousel of the centrifuge was completely stuck and the bottom side of the tank, the heating element, thermostat and its isolation were completely burned.

University Server Room Contamination

A university server room experienced extreme contamination when the kitchen, located directly above the server room, experienced a leak and a form of sticky syrup dripped along the pipes onto the server room equipment including the CAT6 cable and fiber optic cabling requiring professional technical decontamination.

Fire at First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas

The morning of March 8th was a typical Sunday morning as worshipers gathered at the First Baptist Church. Just hours later, a fire started in a control room sound booth on the second floor, spreading to the main broadcast area as well as three offices. Smoke and soot spread throughout the church’s ventilation system, affecting nearly every area in the facility including electronic equipment.

Flash Fire/Arc at University Data Center

When a large university data center experienced a flash fire/arc in a power distribution panel, soot and smoke engulfed the entire facility, affecting network and server equipment. This particular data center operates approximately 50 percent of all university computer traffic as well as critical operations for the university’s hospital call system making it vital to get the data center fully back up and running as quickly as possible.

CNC Machine Fire Contamination

A CNC machine caught fire causing smoke damage throughout the production area of a facility. The fire department successfully extinguished the fire, but now the machines were also contaminated with water. With the need to get the production area of the facility back up and running as soon as possible, AREPA was tasked to perform equipment restoration.

Chemical Manufacturing Facility Contamination

At a chemical manufacturing facility, an employee attempted to redistribute 2,000 pounds of a powdered chemical into four 500-pound containers. The hopper used was not properly cleaned and the therefore, the chemicals reacted with each other causing a fire and chemical cloud to engulf the facility.

Jacksonville State University Planetarium Struck by Tornado

In March 2018, an EF-3 tornado hit Jacksonville State University, severely damaging 23 buildings and affecting 50 more. Martin Hall, a three-story building housing the University’s planetarium, had extensive room damage above the dome causing various contaminants to affect the equipment inside. AREPA was called in to evaluate the damage and restore the dome and equipment.

Laboratory Fire at a University

When a small fire developed inside a vacuumed hood, the fire spread and caused fumes and soot to contaminate two laboratories inside a university. Envista Forensics UK was tasked to perform the investigation, and approximately 100 items of lab equipment were listed and samples were sent to AREPA’s lab in Silkeborg. Following the results of the samples, AREPA was requested to perform the decontamination.

Oklahoma Manufacturing Plant Flood

When torrential rains caused the Arkansas River to reach some of the highest levels on record, levees overtopped causing flooding to several areas of Oklahoma including a manufacturing facility whose entire 160-acre plant was flooded with approximately three feet of contaminated water. In less than 48 hours of receiving a signed agreement, AREPA was on site working to get the plant back up and running.

Ohio Chemical Manufacturing Plant Fire

When a product inside a heated high pressure manufacturing machine caught fire in an Ohio chemical plant, smoke and soot contaminated surrounding equipment. The production floor was also exposed to water when the fire suppression sprinkler heads activated. AREPA was immediately dispatched for expedited equipment decontamination.

Fire at a South Carolina Manufacturing Plant

A manufacturing plant in South Carolina experienced a fire in one of its two large production lines. The plant, which specializes in hygiene products, had to resume production as quickly as possible in an effort to fulfill open orders. Missed shipment deadlines would result in product shortages on client retail shelves.

Honda Engine & Transmission Plant

A large Honda Engine & Transmission Plant in Celaya, Mexico suffered substantial flooding after heavy rains overwhelmed nearby dams. Water was released, and homes and business in lowlands were severely impacted. Various buildings within the automotive facility campus were under more than two feet of muddy, river water.

Owens-Illinois Glass Manufacturing

The Owens-Illinois glass container manufactory in Maastricht produces glass packaging for the food and beverage industry. On the night of May 13th going on the 14th of 2015, a fire broke out at one of the production lines that used molten glass from the furnace to mold glass containers. AREPA was called to help get the plant up and running as soon as possible.

Pré Pain Bread-Baking Production Line Fire

On Tuesday, June 4, 2013, around 1:30 PM, a fire started in a fridge-freezer unit. While the fire was first thought to be relatively small, it soon grew into a catastrophic mult-million € fire. One production hall was lost, two were severely damaged and six production lines suffered heavy smoke and soot damage. The next morning, AREPA was engaged to salvage what could be salvaged.

Fire at Promens Plastic Production

Promens is a global leader in the design and engineering of plastic products with 188 operations in over 30 countries. They create packaging for pharmaceutical, household and industrial chemicals, as well as components for electronics and automotive. As a result of an extensive fire at one of Promen’s European locations, hundreds of highly specialized and expensive plastic molds were severely damaged.

AREPA and Danish State Railways – A Unique Co-operation

IR4 trains in Fredericia started on fire following a horrific wreck. The trains themselves were almost 20 years old, so finding parts to replace was quite difficult, but full replacement would be extremely pricey. Getting the trains up and moving again saved millions.

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