Fire rated safes ARE different…

We are constantly being asked questions about safes, all kinds of questions.  Many are focused on on one key question, “Is it worth it to spend more money on the higher rated safes for such things as fire protection or is it a waste of money?”  Good question and one that we thought might be good to both talk about and show you the difference.

First it is important to get a safe based on what you want to protect and how valuable it is to protect it from theft.  If you put your most valued possessions in a safe that can easily be removed or broken into, this is just wasting money.  Match the value of the goods with the value of protection the safe offers is the easiest rule of thumb.  Besides the size of the safe, there are major differences in how easy they are to open – and not just from professionals like ourselves.  Many safes are not that hard to open if they are cheap and their locking mechanisms are very basic.

The more a safe generally costs, the more protection it gives you against break in and fire.  Those are two key determinants as to the cost of a safe.  So ask yourself how valuable the goods are and that will help direct you to the right safe.  We are trained to ask those types of questions so please feel free to ask away and we will give you the answers based on our experience of seeing how “durable” the safes really are in the real world.  Our recommendations are based on the experiences we have seen first hand and to us, that is the only way to get the straight scoop.

Now for some comparisons.  There are two videos shown below, both are the same building after a fire.  The first video is one of a lower fire rating on a safe and you can see what actually happens to the contents after the fire.  The second one is next to it and had a higher fire rating.  I think you will enjoy seeing the differences.