Ron Wallin, FireKing's National Sales Manager, spent the day here yesterday teaching us about FireKing's line of record protection files, safes & vaults. I had always thought of FireKing's products as fireproof files. Ron explained that "fireproof is only one feature of our products. Their real purpose is vital records protection; to protect a business's irreplaceable records from fire, theft, impact damage and explosions!" We were also surprised to learn that 59% of customers believe that their files are protected from fire if they are stored in a metal file cabinet. Ron explained that while the metal won't burn, that doesn't protect the papers inside from the heat of the fire, which can result in spontaneous combustion inside the cabinet.

So what are vital records? Here' the definition found on FireKing's Vital Records Protection site:

1. What is the official definition of a Vital Record?
Vital Records are defined as: records containing information essential to the survival of an organization in the event of a disaster. Vital Records typically make up a small percentage of the vast amounts of the recorded data which is created by a typical organization - normally 5%. The range can vary depending on the business of the organization. However, a legal, medical, accounting and/or governmental organization may have a much higher proportion of active case files which are regarded as Vital Records.

2. Why do Vital Records need to be protected?
Vital Records will document an organization's legal and financial positions and preserve the rights of employees, customers and stockholders in the event of a disaster. If a Vital Record is lost, damaged, destroyed or otherwise rendered unavailable, that loss becomes a disaster-within-a-disaster, affecting critical operations needed to recover from the initial disaster.

3. What forms of recorded data are usually categorized as "Vital?"
Some common examples include:

• Contracts/agreements that prove ownership of property, equipment, vehicles, products, etc.
• Operational records such as current accounting and tax records, current personnel/payroll records, account histories, and shipping records
• Current client files
• Current standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Produced reports and summaries
• Software source codes (to include both licensed programs and systems and custom developed applications)

BuyOnlineNow has stored our electronic backups in a fireproof, crush resistant safe for quite some time. We're now also examining our paper records to see if any qualify as vital records, if so we'll be bringing in more record storage filing from FireKing. We strongly suggest you consider whether your company's vital records are protected. Are your vital records stored in conventional metal file cabinets? If you find a need for more secure storage; we offer a large selection of FireKing fireproof file cabinets & FireKing storage cabinets and you can learn more about FireKing and their products on their website: http://www.fireking.com/.

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