Salt rises from the ashes, survives and thrives after disastrous fire - The legend of the Phoenix lives on!

Jun 26, 2009

At 8:30 PM January 2, 2009, a passerby called Salt’s President, Don Russell to tell him his office building was on fire. Thinking it was probably a smoke alarm set off by a small trash can fire, he called business partner Jeff Verrill and said, “I think we should head over to the office, someone just told me the building was on fire”. Fifteen minutes later, Don and Jeff looked on helplessly as over 100 firemen tried in vane to control the one hundred fifty foot flames eating away at the roof. They watched in silence with many of the other 25 now displaced business tenants as the firemen poured over a million gallons of water onto the blaze. A couple walls stood the next day. The building was mostly a pile of burned building materials coated with inches of ice, the remaining floor buckling under the weight.

Some of the businesses never survived the tragedy. Salt emerged like the legendary Phoenix. “Our data – the lifeblood of our business – was secure and Salt never skipped a beat. In fact, we were in the midst of securing a very large insurance company engagement. The customer was very impressed with our ability to maintain not only our business but our services as well” said Russell.

A little Yankee ingenuity, a lot of hard work, disaster recovery plan and decent insurance all made for a successful recovery. “Don’t get us wrong, this was a very difficult time for us but we’re through it and we’re taking the opportunity to reinforce our brand – a rebirth of sorts” says Verrill.

Last month, a man was convicted of arson for the burning of the office building.

The legend of the Phoenix has been around for centuries. There are a few variations, but the basic idea is this: The Phoenix is a supernatural creature, living for 1000 years. Once that time is over, it builds its own funeral pyre, and throws itself into the flames. As it dies, it is reborn anew, and rises from the ashes to live another 1000 years. Alternatively, it lays an egg in the burning coals of the fire which hatches into a new Phoenix, and the life cycle repeats.

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