Warehouse Safety: How Iron Mountain takes disaster preparedness to a whole new level

A few weeks ago, there was a devastating warehouse fire in California. In fact, there have been a few in the past several months. According to media reports, the local Fire Authority Chief stated that the sprinklers at the facility were not operational and there was no water pressure for fire hydrants, which significantly impacted the crews on the ground. The warehouse was fully consumed by fire within 40 minutes.

Facility fires are a terrifying scenario for employees, first responders, residents, and anyone in the surrounding area. Taking control over the fire is step one, but there are also lingering environmental and emotional effects long after the fire has been contained.

You've heard us talk about risk management, safety and security quite a bit when it comes to our warehouses. These tragic fires reinforce the reasoning behind our significant investment in the right systems, security and maintenance plans for every Iron Mountain facility around the world.

We take the steps we take based on lessons learned from 75 years of secure warehousing. Our business lines are vast and our customers have come to expect exceptional care whether they're trusting us with records storage, media vaulting, shredding, or serving as their data centers.

Fire Management

With FM Global as our partner, every Iron Mountain building's fire management system is designed to a higher level than NFPA, state and local codes. Every rack configuration is customized based on what's being stored, with flue space considerations and strategically-placed sprinklers that are right sized for specific commodities, and in the right position to deploy as they're needed.

Our early warning air aspirating systems (i.e.: VESDA) are 100 times more effective at detecting smoke than a spot detector. And when a smart air aspirating system gets installed in our buildings, they are continuously reviewed and adjusted to ensure their reliability. Our fire protection and detection systems are maintained and tested by licensed professionals on a basis that is compliant and consistent with the requirements of NFPA 13. Every test and inspection record is kept in a centralized electronic repository, always ready for reference or audit.

Earthquakes

Our rack designs are set up to handle the highest level of seismic activity, using slotted connections that allow the rack to move without collapsing in the event of an earthquake. Our racking systems are not adjacent to the steel of the building. And we've got gas shutoff valves that automatically turn off gas lines when there's a seismic event.

Hurricanes

As weather patterns change and storms and hurricanes get stronger, we work with experts at FM Global to mitigate the impact of such storms on our buildings. Our facilities are designed to be hurricane-proof to FM Global standards which are a higher level of standard than state/local building codes. We continuously make upgrades to fastening systems and our roof & wall systems are designed to withstand greater impact than most extreme storms deliver.

Flooding

Flood plain information is always changing based on weather patterns and other environmental factors. Once again, we work closely with FM Global to ensure we understand where our buildings sit relative to 100-500 year floodplains. All of our buildings are intentionally above the 100 year floodplain in any given region.

Disaster Recovery

Every Iron Mountain facility has a comprehensive disaster recovery plan which is reviewed on an annual basis by our risk team. Ongoing training takes place to address potential disaster scenarios. And we're fully prepared to address both the short-term and long-term needs if and when disasters happen.

24/7 Security Operations Center

We have a 24/7 dedicated security operations team that supports incident management, crisis management, and security system management. It was through this diligent monitoring that our team saw this California fire in the vicinity of one of our warehouses, and we were able to take proactive action to get everyone in our facility to safety. If we weren't actively watching, we would likely not have known about it in real-time.

This round-the-clock service helps ensure that the safety and security of people and products in our warehouses are priority one.

Plus all the Security Basics

Alarmed entry systems, internal & external video surveillance systems, state-of-the-art network & firewall protocols, LED lighting, vetted and well-trained employees—all of these investments work in-tandem to protect what we're storing for each and every customer.

Our customers come to us for many reasons, but trust in the Iron Mountain safety and security-first reputation is often reason #1. We're taking care of the products, assets and data that drive your business. And we take that responsibility very seriously.

Want to learn more? Get in contact with one of our logistics experts here.