Your employer does not have any fireproof cabinets for his important documents. You have read the following extract and decide to prepare a brief summary of the hazards of fire and how they can be overcome.

Draft a suitable summary, giving it a title and taking not more than 150 words.

Do you keep thousands of pounds in your office? No, you probably don't. Like most offices, yours is likely to be full of correspondence files, order books, stock lists, financial records and so on. Nothing of interest to a thief.

Why is it, then, that leading firms of safe manufacturers supply so many security cabinets to offices? The answer is a single word: fire. No burglar could carry away tons of documents, even if he wanted to. But fire can completely destroy such documents within hours and often within minutes.

Businessmen often don't realise that, with their records destroyed, their entire business could be ruined overnight. Even if it is possible to compile a fresh set of records, the long delay can be disastrous. However, those who do realise their vulnerability to fire are wise enough to install security cabinets in which the most vital documents can be stored.

You may say, 'But surely most filing cabinets and sets of drawers are made of steel nowadays, and won't burn?' This is true, of course, but remember that steel is a good conductor of heat. In an office fire the furniture (if made of steel) will quickly become red-hot, and anything inside it will simply become roasted to ashes.

Some firms produce specially toughened and insulated equipment that can withstand very high temperatures for some hours. Naturally, any security cabinet would eventually get very hot inside if it were in a fire, but in normal circumstances an office fire will be detected fairly quickly and be put out in a few hours. During that time the precious documents inside the security cabinet will remain safe and unscorched.

There are other hazards associated with an office fire which these cabinets must withstand. Suppose the office is on an upper floor. If the building catches fire the floors (if made of wood) may bum through, causing furniture to fall heavily for some distance. If the cabinets were to burst open, the documents inside them would immediately spill out into the flames. A similar danger may arise if firemen direct their water hoses on to the cabinet, which is liable to split open just as a hot glass bottle can be cracked by being plunged into cold water. And then the documents would once again be exposed to the fire and flames.

The solution to these problems is to install proper security cabinets which will withstand fire safely, including heavy blows, falls, sudden cooling and so on. The cost is not low; but how much more expensive it is to have all one's vital records destroyed because of one careless match or dropped cigarette!

If a businessman does take the trouble to equip his office in this way, .he might as well spend a little more on providing good fire extinguishers too. Then the dreaded fire might never happen (about 500 words).
(LCC Private Secretary's Certificate)