My Storage Box Takes Fire Prevention Seriously

One of the scariest things to think about for a storage facility is a fire breaking out. Storage units are full of paper goods, like boxes, books, and all kinds of assorted packing materials. If a fire breaks out, these can be hard to contain. Thankfully, My Storage Box uses one of the most rugged and fire-resistant designs on the market: steel shipping containers. These are not only highly durable, but fire resistant to fires. 

Let’s take a look at how to prevent fires in storage facilities, and how My Storage Box’s storage units are uniquely suited for this job. 

The Importance of Fire Prevention in Self-Storage Facilities

Self-storage is a booming business. In 2018, there were already over 20 million storage units in the U.S., so that number has clearly risen since then. In 2020, this translated to almost fifty thousand actual storage facilities. Americans have a lot of stuff, and they need somewhere to put it. 

With all this stuff, there is an inherent risk of the stuff catching on fire. Lots of it is highly flammable stuff like boxes, papers, and furniture. Once those materials start burning, they’re going to burn hot for a while. 

Understanding the Risks

Anytime you go on and put combustible materials in close proximity with each other, especially in a confined space, you run the risk of fire. Of course, this is diminished when there isn’t electrical activity present (our units have no electricity running to them at all). But something happens. Maybe someone left a camp stove or something in their storage. Or maybe lightning struck the unit. 

Since we don’t have electrical hookups running in any of our units, the risk of fire is very low, but it is never zero. 

Legal and Insurance Considerations

It is important to keep storage insurance on your items kept in storage. This isn’t an issue of rules or regulations, but is the best way to protect your assets in storage. 

Generally, your stored items are covered under the “off-premises” personal property coverage in a homeowner’s policy. But you will want to check with your insurance provider to make sure your coverage does this. If not, talk to your agent about adding it on, or what products they suggest. Again, we don’t like to think about this sort of thing happening, but sometimes it does. 

Protect your assets by insuring them. 

How Self-Storage Facilities Can Prevent Fires

Fire prevention in storage facilities is a two-way street. Tenets need to make sure they are not putting dangerous items into storage, and are aware of keeping certain items in close proximity to each other (NOTE: please do not ever store oily rags in a bucket. We don’t know why you would, but if you did, they can and have spontaneously combusted). 

But the other side of the coin lies on us, the storage facility owner. It is on us to build a facility that is as fire-resistant as possible. One of the best features of the shipping containers that My Storage Box uses is their natural durability and fire resistance. 

There is hardly a more difficult environment on the planet to survive than on the open ocean, and that’s exactly what shipping containers do. We decided that if those were good enough to sit on the deck of a ship crossing the Atlantic, they were probably just fine to sit in a parking lot and put people’s things in. 

Facility Design and Materials

Shipping containers are made of all-steel construction, making them almost impervious to fire. Since we sit them side by side on our gravel lot, there is a double-wall of steel between every storage unit, increasing the level of protection. 

And again, we have no electricity running to our units, so any sort of ignition point would have to be brought in from the outside, or be atmospheric. Our units are as fire resistant as you can make a storage facility, and we are proud of that. 

Why My Storage Box is a Clear Winner in Fire Prevention

Part of the appeal of My Storage Box is the simplicity of the operation. But from a safety standpoint for fire prevention, our building strategy is sound. The only electricity on the premises goes to the area lighting and security system. Modern electrical construction is very safe and sound, but it is still one of the top three reasons for structural fires in America. 

So, the best way to control this is to limit electrical energy on site. There is not a lot of demand for it anyway when the units are exterior entry only, and our flood lights provide excellent visibility at all hours of the day and night. The added safety measure is a clear winner.

 

Choose MSB for Unparalleled Fire Safety

Keeping your household goods safe and secure is our top priority at My Storage Box. We know that your possessions are important to you, and by extension, they are important to us. The best way to keep your items safe from fire is to use the sturdiest stuff on the planet for storage, and there isn’t anything much tougher than shipping containers. Made to resist rain, waves, wind, and of course, fire, these are the ideal solution. When parked on a gravel bed as we have, we have effectively eliminated the sources of ignition. And again, since each shipping container is a sealed unit with no shared structural walls, in the rare event that a fire breaks out in a unit, the risk of it spreading is much lower than in a storage unit where a flimsy piece of sheet metal divides each unit. 

If you want a closer look, feel free to swing by our location and take a look, or you can go ahead and reserve a unit by clicking the link!