Precast Inc. - July/August 2008 - (Page 47) to be recovered quickly and restored back to original condition. You should become aware of service providers in your geographical area that specialize in recovering smoke- and water-damaged records. Besides being able to call them after a fire, you can work with them in advance, and they can provide you with some damage prevention recommendations. For example, wet records, especially in a warm climate, will start to mildew quickly, which will lead to destruction. One thing you can do, according to Pelant, is refrigerate them immediately to stop the mold growth. The service provider can then come on site, freeze-dry the records and begin the recovery process. Also, consider a fire-proof safe or file cabinet. Even these require some special considerations, though. “The fire department is responsible for putting out all flames, so they may be required to open up file cabinets to make sure there are no flames inside,” says Pelant. One concern with fireproof file cabinets is that they require cool-down periods. “In order for flame to exist, you need three things: heat, combustibles and oxygen,” he says. A fireproof file cabinet in the middle of a fire gets extremely hot, so it contains two of the three requirements for flame: heat and combustibles (the paper inside). The oxygen is drawn out by the fire outside the cabinet. However, if the cabinet is opened before it has a chance to cool down, this provides the third element: oxygen. “Right before your eyes, you will see your files turn into a puffy blue glow and then begin to burn,” he notes. A media fireproof cabinet (for electronic disks, CDs, etc.), which provides more protection, has a cool-down period of 24 to 48 hours. “As such, you need to bring the fire department and other first responders into your facility ahead of time to get them familiar with your operation and where critical documents are located so they can better protect your ability to recover from a disaster,” says Pelant. For example, show them where the fireproof cabinets are and explain that you don’t want them opened right after a fire. Then mark the cabinets with fireproof labels as reminders to the firefighters so they will know not to open them prematurely. All the wiser A number of precasters have suffered disasters over the years. Generally those who do will come back better and stronger because of the experience, especially in terms of records protection. The following are real-life testimonials: two precasters who actually had fires at their plants, and one who has implemented a very comprehensive program to protect records should a disaster ever occur. In January 2003, the precast plant at Borcherdt Concrete Products Ltd. in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, suffered a major fire. Fortunately, important documents were stored in the nearby separate concrete office building and were not burned. “We have a backup system composed of two portable hard-drive units,” says Tom Borcherdt, owner. “Every day, before my BOOTH 701 THE PRECAST SHOW JULY/AUGUST 2008 | WWW.PRECAST.ORG 47 http://www.preciseforms.com http://www.precast.org
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