Fire Protection - What You Should Know!
Once you've decided to buy a safe, it pays to get fire protection. Fire can be more devastating than theft leaving behind only blackened outlines of valuables. Buying a fire lined safe buys you time, especially as you wait for your local fire department to show up.

There are different levels of fire ratings, ranging from the basic package of 1200 degrees for 20 minutes to the highest level of 1700 degrees for 1 hour. More expensive cement fire safes can provide up to a 2-hour rating and weigh twice as much as the normal home/office safe.

The sensitivity of your items dictates the type of fire protection you should purchase. Most items and documents will be protected in a normal house fire (1200 degrees) when the safe is located on the main floor or basement. Because heat rises, a higher fire rated safe is recommended for upstairs. Items such as computer discs and photographs are even more sensitive to heat than paper. These items should be kept within a specially designed media storage box, that is in turn placed into a basic fire safe to increase the fire protection level.

Many manufacturers offer certified fire protection from independent fire testing laboratories. Confirming safes are fire certified takes the guesswork out of non-verified claims made by manufacturers or salespeople. Independent certification is a good way to confirm accurate times and temperatures as published by the manufacturer.

Two of the most reputable independent fire certification companies are Omega Point Laboratories of Texas and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) of Illinois. Both testing facilities simulate real fires by completely consuming safes with the same intense high temperatures found in home/office and business fires. Thermal couples are placed inside the safe to verify that the inside temperature stays below 350 degrees (or a 275-degree temperature rise). The benchmark of 350 degrees has been established because it is the safe level in protecting paper. The typical paper documentation begins to char between 400 and 420 degrees and ignites at 451 degrees (Just like the book, FARENHEIGHT 451). Heat-sensitive newspapers are crinkled and placed on each shelf to verify the readability of documents after a fire. Once a safe passes, all models built within that safe’s series are certified. You can confirm whether or not a safe is certified by looking for the manufacturers certified fire label displayed on the inside doorframe next to the UL label of security.

Some manufacturers attempt their own fire testing methods, but their testing procedures should be aligned with the established national fire-testing standards (known as ASTM—American Society for Testing Materials). Like independent laboratories, there are three ways to ensure testing conforms to established criteria. One—placing thermocouples on each shelf level, particularly the top shelf since heat rises. Two—using computerized temperature monitoring charts for accuracy and consistency of temperatures. And three—testing the actual size of safe in its normal, upright position replicates use in a home/office setting.

Fire safes are heavier than non-fire safes or cabinets. Standard fire-lined safes can add up to 20 percent more weight. Home/office safes range in weight from 160 pounds for the smallest 24-inch models up to 1,700 pounds for 72” full-featured models.

The thicker walls of fire safes also protect against torching. The thicker the fireboard the slower the cutting of a torch. Of course, we’ve yet to find a better deterrent to torching than the little one- by three-inch sticker that reads: DANGER, BLACK POWDER ENCLOSED!

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