Page "National Personnel Records Center fire" Paragraph 3

In 1951, the Department of Defense retained the St. Louis firm of Hellmuth, Yamasaki, and Leinweber, architects, to design a new facility for its Demobilized Personnel Records Center.

The firm visited several similar operations, including a U. S. Navy records center at Garden City, New York and a Department of Defense facility in Alexandria, Virginia.

They studied the functions of each facility and the nature of the storage systems employed.

Their report, submitted in February 1952, detailed different approaches used to achieve the respective center's mission.

Particularly relevant in light of future events were the findings with regard to fire prevention, detection, and suppression systems.

The Naval records center in Garden City, New York, for example, was outfitted with a full fire sprinkler system, while the Department of Defense facility in Alexandria, Virginia was not.