OKC To Vaporize Personnel Records After Flood

The City of Oklahoma City is trying to salvage personnel records after it's building at 420 West Main Street flooded.

Nine plus feet of water ending up in the basement when a pipe supplying water to the sprinkler system broke. The documents contain names, addresses, social security numbers and even birth certificates.

2/2/2014 Related Story: Sprinkler System Fails, Floods Building In Downtown OKC

Everything in the basement has been destroyed, but the city will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to save their documents.

"These documents are going to be frozen," says OKC Risk Manager Jason Smitherman.

The process is called sublimation. The files will be loaded up and frozen in the back of a refrigerated truck. The documents will then be shipped down to Dallas, where they will be vaporized.

The ice crystals from the deep freeze get vaporized. There is no melting what would lead to more moisture.

Blackmon Mooring is in charge of the restoration and has restored documents all over the country. That includes the Pentagon after 911.

The 45 days process is pricey. The City says just restoring the documents will cost $175,000 to $180,000.

Meanwhile, the city hopes to have the electricity back on in floors one though 10 and have people working again in the building by Friday.