Preparedness Lessened Fire's Rage
This week, Guided by History takes a look back at the "Thanksgiving Day Fire" of 1982, which devoured a block of downtown Minneapolis. The Northwestern National Bank Building, a fixture in the city, was destroyed. A magnificent new tower now stands on the site.
At 5:00 p.m. on November 25, 1982, a fire broke out in the Donaldson's department store building in downtown Minneapolis. The Northwestern National Bank Building, which occupied the block with Donaldson's, caught fire, and the blaze went to five-alarm soon after. Fire crews battled the flames through the night and were still dousing hot spots the next morning. The complex sustained damages of at least $75 million.
For Northwestern National, the loss could have been a major interruption—it caused financial chaos for months. But the company had completed a new disaster preparedness action plan only five months earlier. The plan went into action the very next day, and the story of quick, efficient recovery has become legend in the industry.
The plan was the product of an operations initiative, headed by Virgil Dissmeyer. A blizzard the year before, which caused the fiberglass roof of the Metrodome 
to collapse, had prompted a look at the bank's contingencies for everything from nuclear attacks to, well, fire. Employees had to be notified and routed to different locations. Systems and machinery had to be maneuverable. And a new consideration for the time—"minicomputers," today's PC —had to have backup and recovery in place. When it came to records, and the ability to record transactions, duplication was the chief concern. It is quaint to look over the plan today and see the domination that paper had over business, compared with today's digital basis.
The implemented recovery plan was called "up to speed" by a trade publication within two weeks. Banking operations were functioning, with some limitations, the day after the fire. Drive-thrus and ATMs were operating. All systems were largely available, but credit was given to the self-sufficiency of the bank's staff.
