The intent of the phrase "4-hour fire resistance" is to provide
guidance that construction elements are designed to prevent fire from
breaching the walls, doors, penetrations, etc. for a minimum of 4-hours
and to maintain structural integrity so the interior of the protected
area does not reach temperatures that will damage assets stored within
in that period of time. The secondary component is the temperature
(class) rating, which is described better in some of the materials
cited below, such as "4-hours, 350 degrees" or "4-hours, 125 degrees",
which are thresholds at which paper and magnetic/electronic media
become damaged beyond use. And as you stated, these constructed areas
require interior fire suppression and other methods to assist in
maintaining the temperature and humidity controls within the facilities
as well.
I'd suggest looking into Underwriter's Laboratories (UL) Standards,
specifically UL72, "Tests for Fire Resistance of Record Protection
Equipment" if you're looking for guidance on equipment (cabinetry,
safes, etc.) to store records in within a facility.
http://ulstandardsinfonet.ul.com/scopes/0072.html
If your interest is in the facility itself, a better set of resources
may be National fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard NFPA 232
the "Standard for the Protection of Records", or NFPA 909 "Code for the
Protection of Cultural Resources Properties - Museums, Libraries, and
Places of Worship". 232 speaks to construction methodology for 2 and
4 hour fire resistance for storage; 909 more to a facility that houses
assets and is used for viewing and public access.
http:///www.nfpa.org
Another resources, although it is designed primarily to provide
guidance for the US Federal Agencies and the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA) requirements for storage of Government
records is the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 36CFR Part 1228,
Subpart K. This gives detailed requirements for the housing of records
created by Government Agencies and their Contractors, and there are
subsequent Chapters that deal with electronic format media and film
storage as well.
http://www.archives.gov/about/regulations/part-1228/
Larry
Lawrence Medina
Chair, ARMA Standards Development Committee
On Apr 4, 2006, at 6:28 AM, Caroline Venamore wrote:
> I am wondering if any organisation which has designed archive storage
> or anyone else who has considered this, can tell me what 4 hour fire
> resistance actually relates to?
>
> Disregarding any fire suppression equipment does 4 hour resistance
> relate to preventing flames from reaching records (which may be in any
> media) or from temperatures and humidity reaching a point during
> those 4 hours which will damage the records within the protected area?
>
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