The old rig appears to be pretty much a loss, and we can be very thankful that no one was injured, no other equipment was damaged, and the firefighters were able to get the fire controlled without chemical foams. In the embarrassment I've gone through talking to the Fire Chief, our office neighbors, and others in Everitt Lab, there is a big positive. We will make our facilities showplaces for fire safety. I'll be walking through 330C Everitt with the Fire Chief in the days to come to take advantage of his expert opinion on how we can prevent another incident like this. Older equipment may give off more heat than it was originally designed to handle.
More heat means it needs more ventilation in order to keep operating temperatures stable.
Make sure cabinet vents, or chassis fans, are not blocked or covered up. And be sure you're close enough to tell if something is going wrong with the old gear. In general, properly functioning equipment doesn't give off nasty smells, thick smoke and flame. Be sure you're around to heed these early warnings of trouble. Get them while they're cheep, when the 1997 versions come in, we'll be selling for cover price again.