BY LEW BARBE AND BOB JOHNSON

There are few, if any, four-letter words that strike more fear and apprehension in hearts and minds of
those in the secure destruction industry than the word fire. Its mere mention sends shivers down
the spines of service providers and equipment manufacturers alike. NAIDnews thought it would be
a good idea to explore the issue in order to put it into perspective and maybe shed some light on how
they can be avoided.
Statistics indicate that the major causes of fires associated with paper products are the lack of proper
maintenance, the use of worn out equipment, part failures associated with leaks or breaks of
mechanical equipment, and operational deficiencies.
Of the 510 fires reported in 2004 associated with paper products, approximately 45% occurred from
maintenance problems associated with equipment. Electrical shorts (sparking or overheating),
discarded cigarettes, welding near flammable inventory, and arson also factor into the statistics on
fires in the secure destruction industry.
Only about four out of every 100 paper-related fires are due to spontaneous ignition, where wet or
oily paper, or fibers, which will polymerize or oxidize, producing an explosive fire.
In fact, every shredder manufacturer providing input to this article stressed that poor maintenance
and sloppy operation are more likely to play a role in fires than any other cause.
Relatively few fires in the paper industry are specifically caused by the action of the mechanism used
for shredding. This will be address later in this article.
Obviously, whether for plant-based or mobile truck, fire suppression equipment, such as a
conventional extinguisher, is a necessity. Fire extinguishers will not usually extinguish a fire but they
are designed to suppress the fire until professional help arrives. Having them available and testing
them routinely is an OSHA requirement.
One commenter reported that when a security review team was touring his plant-based destruction
facility prior to awarding a contract, among the questions they asked was whether or not there was a
working, adequate sprinkler system. No sooner did the lead team member ask the question than one
of his associates ask, Why Sam, are you afraid the materials will burn up before they shred them?
Despite the wise crack from the team member, the threat of fire is a serious matter and should not
be taken lightly. The property damage is serious. The loss of business is devastating. It affects
insurance costs. And, most importantly, the threat to the lives of employees and fire fighters is
extremely serious.

Fires in the secure destruction industry have been around since the beginning and they have plagued
plant-based and mobile operations equally.

HISTORY
In reality, customers and prospects looking for shredding services should be asking questions of their
security destruction service provider about fire suppression. At a plant-based facility, if the material
that is not yet shredded catches fire, it would end up water-soaked and incapable of being shredded.
Secondly, if the plant were disabled by fire, the service provider could be incapable of providing
service for an indefinite period of time. From a mobile document destruction perspective, a fire on a
clients premises, even in the parking lot, is fraught with liability and could tarnish their image.
No one has statistics on just how many fires have occurred in the secure shredding business.
A fire at a plant in Detroit in the mid 1990s, where the damages ran into the many millions of dollars,
played a significant part in a major insurer backing away from NAIDs original member insurance
policy.
A fire at a New Jersey shredding plant in April of this year, not only totally destroyed the facility, but
also raised much local concern about toxic substances that may have been stored there in the past as
well as concerns about asbestos used in the buildings construction.
A mobile shredding truck burning by the side of the highway was broadcast on the Atlanta six-o-clock
news live from a helicopter overhead about a year ago.
None of these fires, by the way, proved to be a result of anything unique to the secure shredding
industry other than a lot of paper was available to fuel it.
That is not always true; sometimes the process is to blame. There have been incidents of high speed
shredding equipment igniting paper dust. This is known to have occurred in both mobile and plantbased applications. While the event is exceedingly rare, plant-based manufacturers of this type of
equipment have had to respond to this by creating systems that detect and remove metals from the
material, deprive the system of air, or install other fire suppression systems.
The fact is that fires in the secure destruction industry are more a function of the fact that the
business deals with such large volumes of paper, in an environment that creates a lot of dust, than
because certain equipment is prone to cause fire. More often, fires result from shredding equipment

that is not properly maintained or operated. Maintenance and training are the best prevention to
equipment-oriented fires. Maintenance schedules and training instructions are usually provided by
manufacturers, but it is obviously up to the equipment owner to make sure they are followed.
Response training is also very important to minimizing the loss of property, injury and death.
One manufacturer pointed out the importance of an integrated approach to systems design.
According to them when conveyors, destruction equipment and balers (or compactors) in a
production line are not talking to each other, it poses a hazard. The problem is primarily downstream
from the shredding equipment, when materials are not exhausted from the destruction chamber, or
backup into it. An integrated approach to systems design minimizes that eventuality.

WHEN BEING A WET BLANKET IS A GOOD THING

According to Scott Starr, as long as there is so much paper in proximity to any shredding equipment,
there will be the chance of fire. He says the fact that there is so much paper and dust around, makes
these event that much more dramatic, dangerous and damaging. Scott is the marketing manager for
FIRETRACE International, a NAID Associate Member, which specializes in localized, fast-acting fire
suppression systems. Because its designed to be deployed as a small unit, it has proven very useful in
mobile applications. Scott says whatever the type of destruction equipment that is used, when you
consider the damage to the business if there is a fire, it makes the decision to use a mobile fire
suppression system an easy one.
Because FIRETRACE specializes is small applications, their equipment is not suitable for wide area fire
suppression. On the other hand, Scott is quick to remind destruction plant operators that because
there are typical or logical ignition points in the process, the FIRETRACE system can be deployed to
target these hot spots even in a plant.
According to Scott, It is far safer and a lot less expensive to put the fire out at the point of ignition
than to have to douse the whole building and contents. Fires that start at bearings, which are
susceptible to collect dust and overheating, or at the exit points of the destruction equipment can be
suppressed before they get out of hand.
It was suggested that a suppression system on a mobile truck, or anywhere else for that matter, will
need to be tested and inspected on a scheduled basis, usually twice a year. When tested, a
deficiency report is provided outlining what repairs are needed in order for the system to function
properly. If there are no deficiencies, a compliance certificate will be provided which is valid for a

specific time period before the next required inspection. Testing, inspecting and repairs need to be
performed by a professional firm familiar with and trained to service that particular suppression
system.
One manufacturer warned that in the event of a fire where a suppression device has been installed
on a mobile truck, the vehicle owners insurance company could withhold payment of damages if the
system had not been installed correctly or had not been tested and maintained on the schedule.
But is not necessarily so, according to Brett Benton, an agent with Willis of Arizona, one of several
NAID Member-companies specializing in insuring secure destruction services. Benton says, holding
back a payment for incurred damages would not be an issue even if there was a discount given for
having the equipment, regardless of whether it works or not. If the suppression system is maintained
as advised when installed, usually meaning serviced twice per year, the insured would certainly be
able to claim damages on the policy and be paid accordingly, regardless of whether or not the
equipment worked properly.
Brett also stated that the use of fire suppression systems is always desirable from an insurance
perspective and said that discounts on insurance are usually available when an authorized system is
installed.
There are some other recommended precautions on which almost every person we interviewed
agreed.
1) Never leave a truck stored with shredded paper overnight as the shredded material may
spontaneously ignite or ignite from sparks from the shredding operation.
2) Make sure employees know what to do in the event of a fire, whether on the road or in
the plant. In fact, this is a requirement of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
3) Have appropriate fire suppression equipment (an extinguisher) available to sufficiently
control a limited fire.
No one wants a fire and no one gains from a fire. Any competitor who takes any satisfaction from
competitors falling victim of fires are surely missing the fact that they reflect poorly on the industry.
Fire does not have to be any more of an issue in the secure destruction industry than it is in any
industrial setting. For that to be the case, however, it is up to each operator to be vigilant in actively
managing against it.

Article Written By
Lew Barbe is a fire protection engineer. He can
be reached at

Bob Johnson is the executive director of NAID.

He can be reached at

LCB5392@aol.com.

exedir@naidonline.org

[INFORMATION BOX]

Where Fires Occurred - 2004

There were 1,550,500 fires in the United States. Of these:
46.9% were Outside and Other Fires
33.9% were Structure Fires
19.2% were Vehicle Fires
Residential fires represented 26.5 percent of all fires and 78.0 percent of structure fires.
81.8 percent of all civilian fire fatalities occurred in the home, where home is defined as oneand two-family dwellings and apartments. Of those, approximately 84.0 percent occurred in
single-family homes and duplexes.
Intentionally set structure fires represented 8.6% of all structure property loss.
36,000 intentionally set vehicle fires occurred, causing an estimated $165 million in property
damage.
Source: National Fire Protection Association Fire Loss in the U.S. During 2004 Abridged Report.

[INFORMATION BOX]
WHERE TO FIND HELP
There are many companies that provide assistance with formulating and implementing a fire pre
plan, code compliance, training, or fire protection engineering on a national scale. Two firms, which
provide this service, are:
TVA Fire Life Safety, Inc., 9740 Scranton Road, San Diego, California 92121, Telephone
858 795 1000.
FMG 2615 South Industrial Park Avenue, Tempe, Arizona 85282, Telephone 480 213
6771

[INFORMATION BOX]
NAID ASSOCIATE MEMBERS SPECIALIZING IN INSURING SECURE
DESTRUCTION FIRMS

Hatch-Leonard-Naples, Inc.
Cheryl O'Dell

The Mattei Companies

Patrick Baker

7481 Henry Clay Blvd

Liverpool, NY 13088
Phn: (315)461-1282
Fax: (315)451-3009

2150 River Plaza Dr., Ste 300

Sacramento, CA 95833
TF: (866)665-7253
Fax: (206)826-2828

Email:
cao@hlms.com

Email:
patrickbaker@matteicos.com
Website: www.matteicos.com

Willis of Arizona, Inc.

Brett Benton
11201 N. Tatum Blvd, Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85028
Phn: 602-787-6299
TF: 800-933-6385
Fax: 602-787-8040
Email:
brett.benton@willis.com
Website: www.willis.com

[INFORMATION BOX]
OSHA FIRE PREVENTION REQUIRMENTS
The minimum OSHA requirements for the testing, inspection, and maintenance of suppression
equipment is as follows:
Control Valves
Sealed
Locked
Tamper switches

Inspection
Inspection
Inspection

Weekly
Monthly
Monthly

Inspection
Inspection
Inspection

Monthly
5 years
5 years

Inspection

5 years

Inspection
Inspection
Inspection
Inspection

Daily/weekly
Monthly
Annually/5 years
5 years

Inspection
Inspection
Inspection
Inspection

Daily/weekly
Monthly
Annually
5 years

Alarm Valves
Exterior
Interior
Strainers, filters, orifices
Check Valves
Interior
Preaction/Deluge Valves
Enclosure (during cold weather)
Exterior
Interior
Strainers, filters, orifices
Dry Pipe Valves/
Quick-Opening Devices
Enclosure (during cold weather)
Exterior
Interior
Strainers, filters, orifices

Pressure Reducing and Relief Valves

Sprinkler systems
Hose connections
Hose racks

Inspection
Inspection
Inspection

Quarterly
Quarterly
Quarterly

Inspection
Inspection

Weekly
Weekly

Inspection
Inspection
Inspection
Test
Test

Weekly/monthly
Weekly/monthly
Quarterly
Annually/quarterly
Quarterly

Test
Test
Test

Annually
Annually
Semiannually

Test
Test
Test

Quarterly
Quarterly
Annually

Test
Test

Quarterly
Quarterly.

Fire pumps
Casing relief valves
Pressure relief valves
Backflow Prevention Assemblies
Reduced pressure
Reduced pressure detectors
Fire Department Connections
Main Drains
Water-Flow Alarms
Control Valves
Position
Operation
Supervisory
Preaction/Deluge Valves
Priming water
Low air pressure alarms
Full flow
Dry Pipe Valves/

Quick-Opening Devices
Priming water
Low air pressure alarm

Quick-opening devices
Trip test
Full flow trip test

Test
Test
Test

Quarterly
Annually
3 years

Pressure Reducing and Relief Valves

Sprinkler systems
Circulation relief
Pressure relief valves
Hose connections
Hose racks
Backflow Prevention Assemblies
Control Valves
Preaction/Deluge Valves
Dry Pipe Valves/

Test
Test
Test
Test
Test
Test
Maintenance
Maintenance
Maintenance

5 years
.Annually
Annually
5 years
5 yearn
Annually
Annually
Annually
Annually

[INFORMATION BOX]
WHERE TO FIND HELP
There are many companies that provide assistance with formulating and implementing a fire pre
plan, code compliance, training, or fire protection engineering on a national scale. Two firms, which
provide this service, are:
TVA Fire Life Safety, Inc., 9740 Scranton Road, San Diego, California 92121, Telephone
858 795 1000.
FMG 2615 South Industrial Park Avenue, Tempe, Arizona 85282, Telephone 480 213
6771