There's a short history of the Leahy Archives company, which will provide a
little insight into records storage in the 1050's.
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/pierce-leahy-corporation-history/

In the 1950's (before my time, btw), a lot of focus was on protecting vital
records from atomic war, so that's when Iron Mountain and Underground
Vaults and similar companies got started. For most businesses, the volume
of records was increasing, but still quite manageable in existing office
space and basements (it's always basements).

Government archives had a head start with purpose built buildings like the
US National Archives and the Illinois State Archives. The biography of
Margaret Cross Norton provides some insights into the development of
records management at the state level.
https://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/nortonbio.html
 "Fireproof" at the time meant that a building was constructed of steel and
masonry. Having worked in the Illinois State Archives building, I can state
that that building has incredibly thick masonry walls and is divided into
many "vaults", limiting the risk in the event of a fire. While I don't
think that was typical construction for private industry, it was considered
state of the art.

Patrick Cunningham, CISM, FAI

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