All you need to know about fireproof safes

You need to protect your valued goods.

There are so many risks these days – not just of theft, but what if you misplace something important? What if it gets damaged? Whether its irreplaceable or just a costly mistake, wouldn’t you prefer to just avoid that stress and hassle altogether?

When you think about safes and secure storage measures, it’s not uncommon to consider these just heavy boxes with locks, working as prevention from someone running off with the items that are most important to you. But in actual fact, safes offer much more than just their weight and locking options and today we’re going to tell you all about the fireproof safe options available.

The thought of losing all of your possessions in a fire at your home or business is one we all fear and dread, everything just gone in an instant – but this is where a fireproof safe would provide peace of mind. Important documents like passports, birth certificates, wills, deeds, your wedding photos, baby photos, business documents, hard copies of your policies & procedures – all of the papers that you care about, can be saved.

Graded Safes – which you’ll need if you’re wanting to add the contents of the safe to your insurance policy – are tested and certified to provide varying levels of fire protection. From 30 minutes to 120 minutes of cover, a fire safe will prevent both heat and fire damage from occurring to items stored within your safe.

Just as there are different levels for the length of time items are protected, there’s also different types of protection. Some safes cover paper documents (like our UK manufactured safe range), some protect digital media, such as USBs/memory sticks, external hard drives & other digital devices, and data protection covers internal hard drives, video & audio tapes and cellulose-based materials like film & negatives.

In a lot of cases, a fireproof safe doesn’t just protect against heat/fire damage either, it also prevents any water damage. With water-resistant seals fitted this will make sure your goods don’t get ruined by a flood – or by a fire being put out around the safe.

Testing for data safes and data cabinets falls under BS EN 1047 – making sure that safes are able to withstand set temperatures for varying time lengths, depending on the rating the safes are set to be. Safes are normally heated within a furnace at between 945°C or 1049° C for 1-2 hours (depending on what level of protection the safe is supposed to provide). Once the time has elapsed, the safe or data cabinet is removed from the furnace and left to cool, but this can be where many secure storage solutions fail, as they continue to absorb ambient heat.

The fireproof safes that we manufacture are available in Grades 0 to 6 which have corresponding cash ratings and valuables ratings attributed to them, with a Grade 0 Safe offering £6,000 cash cover & a Grade 6 Safe offering £150,000 – there’s definitely something for everyone.

If you don’t really need to insure the content of the safe (we’d definitely recommend it but if you’re absolutely sure) we also have fire-resistant safes from a number of our suppliers including the likes of Securikey, Phoenix Safes & Chubbsafes. These can provide cash covers of between £2,000 – £4,000, so perfect for if you’re not looking to store anything too valuable.

Are you starting to think it’s time to buy? That’s the spirit.

Get in touch with us for more information about our full range and what you – specifically you – need. We’ve got something for everyone, so you don’t have to worry about settling for something not necessarily up to your standards.

 Give us a call on 0161 832 2777 and have a chat with our security safe experts to find the perfect fireproof safe for your home or business today – or fill out an enquiry form on our website, someone will be in touch ASAP.