How To Choose A Fire-Rated Safe

A safe can become an integral part of your home or office security, provided you know what you’re looking for.

Security safes offer protection for valuable items and cash, making it almost impossible for a burglar to break into it.

Fire-rated safes, on the other hand, are designed to protect paper, digital and magnetic media – pretty much anything that can combust or spoil when exposed to high temperatures.

Below, the security specialists at eSafes outline the key factors you need to consider when choosing a fireproof safe, to ensure you make an informed decision for your home or business.

What items will you keep in your safe?

Choosing the best fire safe depends on the types of media you want to protect.

·         Paper

Got lots of precious photographs stashed in boxes up in the loft? Or important documents that contain private and confidential information in the office?

To prevent paper from combusting, you’ll need a fireproof document safe with an internal temperature that doesn’t exceed 177°C.

·         Digital media

If you’re worried about physical photos being damaged, you might consider scanning them onto your computer or laptop and keeping a digital copy.

Alternatively, if your office has gone paperless, the chances are you’ll save sensitive information onto a USB flash drive, including names, addresses, bank details and contact information.

When storing items in your fireproof data safe, the optimal temperature inside is 120°C. Anything higher will destroy media.

·         Magnetic data

Whether you’re a film buff and have lots of old videos knocking around at home, you’ve had your wedding tape converted to a DVD or your CCTV footage is automatically saved on a hard-disk drive, you’ll need a magnetic media fire safe.

Tapes and films can (and often do) spoil at just 52°C, so you need to choose a data safe that will remain below this on the inside.

How much protection do your possessions need?

Something that you may or may not know about safes that are fireproof is that they undergo a series of tests to determine their fire rating (i.e. the fire endurance test, the explosion hazard test and the fire drop test).

This rating indicates the level of resistance the safe will provide and what items it can protect.

For example, if you only require a low level of protection for documents, such as passports, birth certificates and wills, a safe with a standard 30 minute fire rating should suffice.

If you’ll leave paperwork and digital media in your safe, consider a model with a medium 60 minute fire rating.

Fireproof safes with a 90 minute rating offer a high level of protection for documents and back-up tapes. These usually have insulated walls to protect your belongings against fire damage.

120 minute fire-rated safes offer the maximum level of protection for irreplaceable items at home and in the office, including confidential company records and computer tapes.

Where will your safe be installed?

The best fireproof safes are equipped with high-security locks as standard – usually a key lock, keypad, fingerprint scanner, dial combination or dual lock.

However, when choosing the perfect one for your home or business, you need to consider where it will be positioned and how much space you have available. This will prevent you from ordering one that’s too big and will stand out like a sore thumb or one that’s too small and won’t fit all your possessions in.

Most people opt to bolt their security safes to the ground or fix them to the wall to ensure burglars can’t steal them.

Although standard and selected medium level fire-rated safes can be bolted to the floor, high and maximum level fireproof safes cannot. This is because, in the event of a fire, it will compromise the protection they offer.

Ready to invest in a fire-rated safe?

When deciding which fireproof safe to choose for your home or office, be sure to take the above factors into consideration.

You can also use the filters on our website to help narrow your options down and, if you have any questions, talk to the team today.

We’re always on hand to help and will gladly advise you on the most suitable model for your needs – ensuring optimal protection for the items you’ll keep inside it.