There are many ways to protect your valuable data from fire damage. I am going to tell you about two of them. One way is to use fireproof boxes, which does exactly what the name suggests. The other is a fireproof external hard drive which attaches to your computer and, again as the name suggests, is fireproof.
So, the premise is simple. Your office catches fire. All your hard copies of documents are burnt to a crisp. Your computer lies mangled in pool of melted plastic. Your hard drive with all its precious files, folders and information is toast (not literally, as that would be utterly ridiculous). This is not a happy scenario, and many people do not consider the impact of information loss on their business. All that information has a high value, even though you might not be able to quantify it in monetary terms. (And yes, I have been reading “Sentences To Make You Sound Clever Monthly”)
So, solution number one is to store your information in a fireproof box, also known as a fire chest. There are a number of different sorts, from the traditional upright safes for things like papers and valuables, to media chests which are used to store those all-important digital backups. The media chests are fireproof, and also waterproof, so no worries about the effects from your lovely sprinkler system. Media chests will store backup tapes, CDs, DVDs, USB sticks, hard drives, floppy discs (does anyone still use these beasties?!), DAT tapes or any other sort of removable media that you can think of. They can be used at home or in the office. There is even a model which has an external USB cable, which you can plug directly into your computer, and back it up to the enclosed portable drive without even opening it up. Easy peasy!
Solution number two is a fireproof, waterproof external hard drive, such as ioSafe’s shiny model (shown in the piccie above, next to the chicken!). As you can see from the photos, this has been tested in some fairly extreme situations. From being barbecued on a 600 degree Fahrenheit grill, and submerging in a 5-gallon bucket of water for two hours, this nifty little gadget still managed to survive, and only showed teeny bits of damage to the outer case. This means that all that lovely information was stored all snug and safe inside.
Water and fire are two of the most dangerous conditions for electronic gadgets, and therefore the information that is stored on them. So, the answer is simple. Make sure this info is stored somewhere where fire and water cannot get to it. I think I have provided you with two tip top solutions. All you need to do is remember to do those pesky (but very important) backups. Simples.
