The Benefits of Fireproof File Cabinets

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Organising your paperwork

While some of us know we could do a lot better when it comes to organising our paperwork, there are others who keep meticulous files in their offices, enabling them to locate whatever documents they need quickly and without fuss. These people probably make extensive use of filing cabinets, which can be organised alphabetically to make finding relevant paperwork really speedy. There are obvious benefits to having your documents stored neatly away and not scattered in piles around the room – being able to see your desk and use it as a proper working space for one.

What kind of filing cabinet do I need?

While it’s important to make sure your filing cabinet is spacious enough to meet your requirements and strong enough to last, there are other important considerations. Often people think about the security risks involved with a large amount of confidential paperwork and make sure that they buy a filing cabinet, which securely stores critical documents with a key or combination lock. But with filing cabinets holding company records, deeds, financial reports and other important documents, you should also ensure that you get one that protects your paperwork against the impact of natural disasters, like fire.

Is your filing cabinet as secure as you think it is?

While key locks and access codes might deter unauthorised persons from getting access to your important files, they will do nothing to prevent you losing absolutely everything in your filing cabinets in the event of a fire. This could be completely devastating should a fire occur. In just a few minutes all your business paperwork might be completely wiped out, leaving you with nothing short of a disaster on your hands. Fire Document Cabinets are specially designed to withstand the impact of extreme heat and can protect your paperwork from damage if a fire was to break out on the premises. Fire document cabinets are independently tested to stop the internal temperature from reaching the point where it would ignite the paper, at just 177 degrees Celsius. The average fire reaches temperatures of more than 600 degrees. A good quality fire document cabinet will keep the contents safe for two hours, which thankfully is much longer than the average fire service response time.

Another clever thing about fire document cabinets…

Not only do fire document cabinets protect your vital records from annihilation, but often each individual drawer is protected separately. This means if one drawer is left open, the remaining drawers will not be affected and your paperwork will remain safe.

Does my business really need a fire document cabinet?

A study by technology research firm Gartner showed that 40 percent of small and medium sized companies who experienced a sudden misfortune went out of business within five years. In the unlikely event that they had a disaster recovery plan at all, it was likely to rely on guesswork. They also often assumed their insurance company would cover them, without considering the need to produce receipts and other paperwork demonstrating the loss. In reality, the insurance money may take a long time to be processed, be greatly reduced or even be completely denied. Even then, insurance policies can’t replace lost names and numbers. With fire document cabinets in place, you’ll never need to find out how hard that might be.