Fire Protection Design Requirements: Cologix Johnstown Data Center Campus, Johnstown, Ohio

Meta Description: Fire protection design for the Cologix Johnstown data center campus in Ohio: NFPA 13 (2022), NFPA 72 (2022), 2024 OBC/OFC, and key design considerations.

Section 1: Project Overview

Cologix announced on November 20, 2024 that it had acquired approximately 154 acres in Johnstown, Ohio — Licking County, about 25 miles northeast of Columbus — to develop a new AI-ready data center campus. At full buildout, the plan calls for eight data centers totaling 2.0 million square feet with a potential 800 MW of scalable capacity, backed by an investment of more than $7 billion. The land was purchased from Johnstown Land Company, an affiliate of New Albany Company, and development of the first phase was anticipated to begin in 2025. The campus is now active: Cologix's COL7 facility, the company's newest AI-ready data center, is located on the Johnstown Campus, and the COL8 building is following on the same site. Cologix has operated in Central Ohio for over a decade, with four existing Columbus data centers totaling 500,000 square feet and 80 MW. For fire protection designers, an eight-building, phased hyperscale campus in a single jurisdiction is a long-horizon design program, not a one-off project.

Section 2: Fire Protection Challenges Specific to This Project

High-density AI compute changes the fire protection calculus in ways conventional colocation does not. Rack power densities high enough to require liquid cooling introduce dielectric fluids, coolant distribution units, and overhead piping runs into white space — every one of those routing decisions has to be coordinated against sprinkler coverage, detection spacing, and obstruction rules that were written with simpler ceilings in mind.

Phased construction across eight buildings creates its own problems. Each building will be permitted, reviewed, and inspected on its own timeline, while sitewide infrastructure — fire water supply, looped underground mains, hydrant coverage, and fire department access roads — must be sized for full buildout from day one. Underestimating water demand in phase one is the kind of error that gets expensive in phase four.

Early smoke detection is the other defining requirement. Data halls move large air volumes at high velocity, and AI cooling architectures push airflow even harder. Spot-type smoke detectors perform poorly in that environment, which drives designers toward air-sampling (aspirating) detection designed around actual airflow modeling rather than ceiling-grid defaults. Add gaseous suppression decisions for electrical rooms, battery energy storage considerations, and generator fuel systems, and the fire protection scope on a campus like this touches nearly every discipline on the project.

Section 3: Required Systems and Applicable Codes

Ohio enforces the 2024 Ohio Building Code (based on the 2021 IBC, effective March 1, 2024) and the 2024 Ohio Fire Code (based on the 2021 IFC, effective November 20, 2025). Ohio amended its referenced standards to require the 2022 editions of NFPA 13 and NFPA 72 — not the 2019 editions the model 2021 IBC lists. Note that Ohio does not adopt NFPA 101 for new commercial construction; egress is governed by the OBC. Designers working from NFPA 101 assumptions out of habit will draw correction comments here.

Expect wet-pipe or pre-action sprinkler protection throughout, air-sampling smoke detection in data halls, clean agent systems where the owner's uptime requirements demand them, and full NFPA 72 (2022) monitoring and emergency communications integration.

Section 4: What Designers Need to Think Through

Start with water. An 800 MW campus needs a fire water analysis covering all eight buildings before the first underground main goes in — flow tests, demand calculations per NFPA 13 (2022), and a looped main strategy reviewed with the local fire AHJ and the water purveyor early.

Pre-action versus wet-pipe is an owner conversation, not a code decision. The 2024 OBC permits wet systems in data halls; hyperscale tenants frequently demand double-interlock pre-action over IT loads. That choice cascades into detection design, since double-interlock releasing requires detection coverage engineered to NFPA 72 (2022) releasing-service requirements.

Liquid cooling coordination belongs in the BIM model from the first design package. Coolant piping, busway, cable tray, and containment all compete for the same overhead zone as sprinkler branch lines — clash resolution after permit submittal means resubmittal.

Generator and energy storage scope deserves early attention as well: fuel storage quantities, NFPA 110 installation requirements, and NFPA 855 separation distances all interact with site layout decisions that are difficult to unwind later.

Finally, plan the submittal sequence. Eight buildings means eight rounds of plan review with state-certified building officials and the fire code official. Consistent design standards, clean hydraulic calculations, and a repeatable submittal package pay for themselves across the program.

Section 5: How ProTech CDS Approaches Projects Like This

ProTech CDS produces fire alarm, sprinkler, and suppression design packages for data center projects nationwide, with BIM coordination handled in-house so fire protection routing is resolved against mechanical and electrical trades before submittal. Every design is reviewed by our NICET IV principal, and we provide PE stamps in all 50 states, including Ohio. For engineering firms and contractors carrying a multi-building program like the Johnstown campus, we deliver white-label design under your title block, matched to the enforced editions — NFPA 13 (2022) and NFPA 72 (2022) under the 2024 Ohio codes. Project intake and document exchange run through lockin.protechcds.com.

Section 6: Call to Action

Designing fire protection for a data center in Ohio or anywhere else in the country? Send us your project scope through lockin.protechcds.com and we will respond with a design proposal, a deliverables list, and a schedule. Every package is NICET IV-reviewed and PE-stamped in all 50 states.