Safes Rise From Ashes

A Case of Burn-Out
By George Condon, president of Northeast Security Solutions
-reprinted from Safe & Vault Technology, Sept. 1995

Through the years I have always tried to convince my customers of the importance of keeping their records and data tapes in fire safes and fire file cabinets.

In the early morning hours of April 20th, 1995, my own advice would hit home very hard. At three-thirty in the morning the store adjacent to mine was robbed and the thieves set the place on fire to try and cover their crime. The fire burned through the adjoining wall and into my store. It was not until twenty-four hours after the fire that I finally got permission to start the cleaning out process. What a mess!

The charred building was still standing when the firemen finished putting out the blaze. Very little was left inside. The insurance adjuster said it best: "It's a total loss. Nothing in there is salvageable."

Going through a fire is the hardest thing I have ever experienced. What little did survive of my business were the things we kept in fire file cabinets and safes.

I started in the office area, as I wanted to see if my business records were intact. I have one four-drawer Schwab fire file cabinet which contained the paper copies of accounts payable, accounts receivable, the cash drawer from the register and the petty cash box. The other fire file cabinet I had was a Victor two-drawer fire file cabinet. The bottom drawer of this cabinet contained my computer back-up tapes. The top drawer held my checkbooks and bank statements. As I glanced around the office at the melted computers, melted photocopier, the charred papers, a desk covered with ceiling debris and water soaked fiberglass insulation, it was hard to believe anything would be usable.

I dialed open the Schwab file cabinet first and was greatly relieved to see the paper copies of our records were all intact. They smelled like fire and there was soot residue on them, but they would be usable. The Victor safe was opened with the key. The computer tapes seemed to be alright but I would not know for certain until a few days later when my new computer would arrive. As it turned out, our tape was completely unharmed.

I am certain now, looking back on things, that if this tape and paperwork had not been saved, I would have definitely been out of business. Our safe displays in the front of the store were the next items of curiosity to me. We kept our high security keys and their corresponding records in a Meilink CSC-1612 and a New England NE-1. These two units were covered with debris and soot and were exposed to very high temperatures but did not get burned. Upon dialing them open, we discovered again a small amount of soot inside but no damage to the contents from heat. The plastic items inside were not even disfigured at all!

A while ago, a customer of ours had given us a Mosler walk-in fire vault door. We had installed it in an area which was used for displays but was currently under reconstruction. The door was kept closed at night. This was the only room that did not suffer some kind of damage from the fire. We could actually dial the door open, even though the plastic dial was badly distorted (we had to guess at one of the numbers). The door is being repainted now for our new store. All the paint had been burned off, but it is still in good working order.

A few other interesting notes: Our Amsec KPL-2000 display was badly melted but the lock still worked when I pushed in the combination. I was going to throw it out when I mistakenly pushed a button and heard the all-familiar chirp. Secondly, our Mas-Hamilton X-07 display, after we wiped off the soot, was still able to be dialed.

I am pleased to say that all our safes had done their jobs, from the Meilink, Gardall, and Amsec, to the New England. I have already replaced my fire file cabinets with a legal size, four-drawer FireKing that has the Transformer Data box. I have learned that this type of container is probably one of the most important pieces of office equipment anyone can have. Our entire business and the future of our business are stored in these containers. No one plans on disaster striking them, but thankfully, we had practiced what we preached.

When I talk to customers now I can speak firsthand about the importance of saving your valuables from fire and theft. Hopefully I will never need them to do their job again, but if I do I am prepared. I highly recommend the same for any other business or home owner. You can not afford to be without them.