In general, a fireproof safe or lockbox should be able to stand up to temperatures of up to 1,550 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. This criterion is based on how long it takes firefighters to get to a fire.
A safe should protect against fire for at least an hour at 350-450 degrees and for at least 350-450 degrees. If there is a fire in your home or business, a safe with a fire rating of less than one hour won’t protect your valuables well enough.
If you’re only storing important documents, you need a Class 350 fire-rated safe so that the paper doesn’t get too hot and burn. Because Class 150 and Class 125 (150°F and 125°F, respectively) are the highest temperatures you want to keep for electronics and other storage media, you’ll need a fire-rated safe if you want to keep photos or electronics.
Most fireproof safes have to keep the temperature inside at less than 350°F. It is a standard that most fire-proof home safes follow. This is because paper loses its color at 350°F and starts to burn at 451°F. Guns can stand up to temperatures as high as 500°F.
Let’s get back to the details. For example, a UL Class 125 2-hours certified safe will work for at least 2 hours if the temperature outside does not go above 1700°F (927°C). A typical house fire can get up to about 1000 °F. So, the fireproof safe will be able to last even longer. Since the temperature inside won’t go above 125°F (51°C), you can store electronic devices and computer media inside.
Paper documents and even small amounts of cash can be hurt by heat and smoke, but fireproof safes protect them. On the other hand, fireproof safes are made of very thin (16-18 gauge) metal, which makes them easier to steal. Standard hand tools can easily be used to pierce, saw, or cut the metal, which is mostly there to hold the fire-retardant chemical. A fireproof safe is the best way to keep important documents and valuables like wills, passports, marriage certificates, and a small amount of cash safe from a fire.
Safes that are both fireproof and hard to break into must have a fire rating of at least 1 hour. If there is a fire, a safe with a fire rating of less than one hour is not likely to protect any paper or money. The problem is that you never know where a fire will start. It could start right next to your safe and spread, exposing its contents to high heat.
What temperature should a safe that doesn’t catch fire be?
Fire safety rating: The inside of a safe should never get hotter than 350 degrees, because paper burns at 400 degrees and guns break down at temperatures above 500 degrees.
After an hour, is it safe to leave a fire alone?
Safes that are resistant to fire and break-ins should have a fire rating of at least one hour. If there’s a fire, a safe with a fire rating of less than one hour probably won’t be able to protect your papers or money well enough.
Is it true that a safe that says it won’t catch fire won’t catch fire?
Do all safes keep fires out? No safe is completely fireproof, but different safes have different levels of resistance to things like fire that could be dangerous (and water). Before you buy a safe, make sure to read the fine print to see if it is fireproof or waterproof.
How long can you safely protect against fire?
Most home safes give you security for 30 minutes, but you can also find safes that give you security for an hour or more. These are usually more expensive. Bonsib says that 30 minutes should be enough in most cases. “Fires spread quickly through a house, so the average time in a room or area is 20 minutes.”
How long does a fire last inside a fire-proof safe?
Most home safes are rated to withstand 30 minutes at 1,550°F, based on how fires usually spread through a house and how firefighters fight fires today. Both UL and ETL have given this certification many times. The higher level, which is safer, is 60 minutes at 1,700 °F.
Where should you put a safe that can’t catch fire?
We suggest putting your safe on the inside corner of two outside walls. This will protect it from fire. In a fire, these walls will stay the coolest. For two reasons, you should also keep your safe on the first floor. Because heat rises, if your safe is on the top floor, it will be exposed to higher temperatures.
How much should a house safe weigh?
These could be as big as a microwave or as small as a mini-fridge. The most popular safe made by Gardall Safe Corp. weighs about 85 pounds and is about 17 inches around. Safes can be much bigger and heavier than 300 pounds, depending on what you need.
What does it mean when a fire rating is 350?
The safe is also made to protect paper records, but it does so in a more secure way than the class one hour safe. It has a 2-hour fire rating from UL Class 350, which means that even if the temperature outside the safe goes above 1700°F, the temperature inside will not go above 350°F for at least 2 hours.
Does paper burn in safes that can’t catch fire?
Rating for Fire Safety: U.S. cash burns at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of this, if a safe is exposed to flames for a long time, the inside can get hot enough to ignite paper money.
How hot does money have to be to burn?
It usually burns and starts to catch fire at temperatures between 218 and 246 degrees Celsius (or 424 and 475 degrees Fahrenheit).
Can a safe be destroyed by a fire?
On the labels of fireproof safes, the fire ratings range from 60 to 120 minutes. This is how long it would take for a fire to burn through the material and reach everything inside. Most good fireproof safes will also be resistant to fire.