Stolen or Destroyed: Gone is gone.

Are you planning to keep paper documents in your safe? What about cash? A basic security safe is a thick-walled metal box. This is also a very effective oven design! A fire will destroy documents in a basic safe. It doesn’t matter whether your papers and cash are stolen or destroyed: gone is gone.

Fire safes offer a degree of protection. They are thicker and heavier. They generally feature two walls, with a void space in the middle. This void is typically filled with a specialty cement. This “fire mix” is not very hard (read: does not increase security!) because it contains a lot of moisture. When exposed to high heat, this moisture evaporates out, carrying the heat away from your items. This isn’t a perfect solution, but it buys you time while the fire department does their thing.

Properly rated fire safes (assessed by either UL or ETL laboratories) keep their contents below 350 degrees for a specified period of time. Paper can spontaneously combust when it reaches approximately 400 degrees. You should consider the availability of fire suppression services when picking a fire safe. Rural homes benefit from a longer time rating, because the fire department can take longer to arrive.

The construction of fire safes leads to their interior being somewhat humid. Dry storage bags are available to keep your papers safe. Electronic dehumidifiers and basic silica packets can keep moisture contained. And for every type of valuable in any type of safe, you must periodically open it up and take stock! I’ve seen an envelope of cash locked in a fire safe for five years finally get opened, and the money was damp and moldy!
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Do you need protection from fire and burglary? Spoiler alert: yes, you do. JD Williams Locksmith Service carries a series of high quality AMSEC security products with ratings as both a UL Residential Security Container and ETL 80-minute fire safe! Another common solution for homes and businesses which already have a large security safe on site is to purchase a smaller “document size” fire safe, and place that inside the security safe.