Last night, there was a light plane crash in the area south of San Jose in
the rural community of Watsonville.  Sadly, 2 adults and 2 children lost
there lives when a single engine plane developed an engine problem shortly
after takeoff, came down at the end of the runway and skidded across a
parking lot into a building.

The building it crashed into was a Women's Health Clinic associated with a
Regional Hospital Complex- the plane went completely through the exterior
wall into a a large room and burst into a ball of flames.

When they showed film of the cleanup and firefight, one thing I happened to
notice was the room it crashed into was filled with file cabinets and open
shelving and all of the records were on fire and obviously being completely
destroyed. 

Two things that came to mind for me (as a Records Manager) when I saw that were:

- Was there no location better than an outside wall office to house the
records in, given a car could have crashed through the windows, a window
could have blown out in a storm, or with privacy concerns for medical
records, someone could have seen patient names on the files from outside?

- Did no one consider the potential threat of a plane crash when deciding
where to store the records when they were less than 100 yards from the end
of a runway?

During planning for storage of records and providing protection, you are
supposed to consider potential hazards/threats and calculate the likelihood
of their taking place.  Sure, no matter where you are situated, there is the
possibility of a plane crash but it may be rather unlikely... unless the
facility you are in is at the end of a runway where planes routinely take
off and land.  And even in this scenario, if you house the records in an
interior room away from the flight path, they are provided SOME logical
protection.

When I was consulting, one thing I always suggested to those storing records
was to avoid storage in a room against an outside wall of a building
whenever possible.  About the only time this is a safe location is if the
wall is solid concrete or filled concrete block without windows.  I've seen
plenty of situations where storms have blown in windows, or tree limbs have
crashed in and records have been damaged requiring costly recovery or even
where they have been sucked completely out of the windows and lost. 
Measures can be taken to minimize the potential for loss, such as closed,
6-sided cabinets and screened windows, but sometimes if other less exposed
areas are available, it makes logical sense to choose those instead.

I doubt there will be any follow-up stories on the loss of records from this
Medical Facility and given the remote location and the economic situation in
the Watsonville area, it's unlikely there are electronic backup copies of
any of these records. 

Hopefully though, lessons will be learned form this and if any of you are
being treated in a facility that has a similar situation for storing their
records, you'll make mention of the possible risks to them, or request a
copy of YOUR records to ensure if they ARE lost, you'll have a backup!

Larry
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