What Are the Fire and Flood Risks of Office-Based Document Storage?

Fire and water are the two biggest threats to paper documents. Office buildings are designed to protect people, not records — and the measures that save lives (sprinkler systems, evacuation procedures) often do nothing to save your documents. In many cases, the fire protection itself causes as much damage to paper as the fire would.

Fire Risks in Office Buildings

How Much Paper Is in Your Office?

A typical office filing cabinet contains 10,000-15,000 sheets of paper. A dedicated archive room can hold tens of thousands of sheets. This volume of paper represents a significant fire load — the technical term for the amount of combustible material in a space. More fire load means a more intense fire that is harder to control.

Common Causes of Office Fires

• Electrical faults — overloaded sockets, faulty wiring, equipment left on overnight. This is the single most common cause of office fires in the UK
• Kitchen areas — unattended cooking, toasters, microwaves
• Heating equipment — portable heaters placed too close to combustible materials
• Smoking — despite bans, improperly extinguished cigarettes near building entrances remain a risk
• Arson — deliberate fire-setting accounts for a significant proportion of commercial property fires

Why Office Fire Protection Fails Documents

The standard fire protection in UK offices — sprinkler systems — is designed to protect the building and allow safe evacuation. Sprinklers use water, which stops fires effectively but destroys paper documents just as completely. A sprinkler activation in your archive room will save the building but soak every document in the room.

Professional document storage facilities use gas-based fire suppression (FM-200, Novec 1230 or similar) that displaces oxygen and extinguishes fires without any water. The documents survive completely intact.

Flood and Water Risks in Office Buildings

Sources of Water Damage

• Burst pipes — the most common cause. Aging plumbing, frozen pipes in winter, or accidental damage during building work can flood entire floors
• Roof leaks — particularly in older buildings, roof leaks can go undetected until water has already reached storage areas
• Rising groundwater — basement and ground-floor storage areas are vulnerable to water table changes and heavy rainfall
• External flooding — UK flood risk is increasing. Properties near rivers, in low-lying areas or in urban zones with poor drainage are at risk
• Internal accidents — overflowing sinks, broken washing machines, or even a large spillage can damage documents stored at floor level

Why Water Damage to Paper Is Irreversible

Once paper gets wet, the damage begins immediately. Ink runs, pages stick together, and text becomes illegible. Within 24-48 hours, mould begins to develop — even in small amounts of moisture. Once mould takes hold, it spreads through an entire box and cannot be fully removed. The documents are effectively destroyed.

Drying out wet documents is possible in some cases, but it is an expensive specialist process with no guarantee of success. For most business records, the cost of professional drying exceeds the cost of the information itself.

Assessing Your Office Risk

Consider the following questions about your current document storage:

• Are documents stored at ground level or below ground?
• Are there water pipes above or near the storage area?
• Is the building in a flood risk zone? (Check the Environment Agency flood map)
• Is there a fire suppression system, and what type?
• How old is the building’s plumbing and electrical wiring?
• Are documents in sealed, waterproof containers or open shelving?
• What is your disaster recovery plan for fire or flood damage to records?

Reducing the Risk

If you continue to store documents on-site, basic steps include: storing records above ground floor level, using waterproof archive boxes, keeping documents away from water pipes, maintaining fire detection and extinguishers, and creating digital backups of critical records through document scanning.

However, the most effective protection is to move your archive to a purpose-built facility with gas fire suppression, raised flooring, climate control and environmental monitoring. At EvaStore, our Shropshire facility is designed specifically to protect business records from fire, flood and environmental damage.

Get a Free Quote

Every business is different, so the best way to understand your costs is to get in touch with our team. We provide clear, no-obligation quotes — usually within the same day.

Call us on 01691 650355 or use the form below.