Hummdis
Joined: 18 Apr 2008
Posts: 21
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 Few Answers...
My suspicion is that you're going to have a very small number of people submit answers, at least valid ones, that have encountered this issue. Primarily because it's not often that this problem occurs since most companies today have off-site storage requirements in place for their backed up data. I pretty much have identity theft coverage all of the time because there's always one company that I'm a customer of that has lost or misplaced a tape while in transit to an offsite location and per Federal regulations, they are to provide two years of ID theft coverage.
LTO-4/5 specs on the tape sleeve state the following:
Storage: 60 to 90 degrees F (16 to 32 C)
Operation: 50 to 113 degrees F (10 to 45 C)
Humidity: 20-80% RH
The storage life, as printed on the sleeve, states:
"Tapes intended for archiving data for up to 30 years should be sotred in their plastic container, in room conditions of between 41-73F (5-23C) and 20-50% relative humidity. Wet bulb temperatures should not exceed 78F (26C)."
Therefore, if there is a fire and the tape is inside and the internal temperature of the safe reaches 125 degrees F, I would not expect the tape to last 30 years. I would restore the data and backup the data to new tape to ensure longevity of the data on the tape.
If you're concerned, get a hygrometer from your local pet store, one that keeps a history of the lowest temp recorded and highest temp recorded, as well as the RH. They cost about $20 and if left in the safe (be sure to check the battery every now and then) during a fire it will record the internal temperature and store the highest value. If the inside temp goes over 125 degrees F, you can contact the manufacturer and they should be legally liable for the contents given that the safe was rated to not allow the internal temp to go above 125 during a fire that lasts two hours. I'm not a lawyer, but one would think you have a pretty good case.
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