Q&A / 

Fire and Burglar Safes

DEAR TIM: A friend of mine recently lost many of her valuables in a house fire. Is there a simple way to protect valuable papers, documents and computer diskettes from a house fire and burglars? I have access to an older, small floor safe. Will this be adequate? Where is the best place to install a house safe? Beth S., Huron, SD

DEAR BETH: I know what your friend is going through. Five years ago, I visited a house that had been destroyed by a fire. The wife was home and a painter working in the living room noticed smoke coming from a furnace vent. The house was two blocks from the firehouse. Once notified, the fire department responded immediately. Even though the fire department was applying water to the fire within six minutes of its origin, the family lost nearly all of their possessions! I was shocked at the speed the fire spread and the extent of the damage.

The power and fury of a typical house fire is immensely underestimated by the average person. The National Fire Protection Association has conducted accurate tests involving the growth and temperatures of fires. Did you know that just 3 minutes and 3 seconds after the start of an average living room fire involving a couch, that the temperature 3 feet above the floor within the room is over 500 F? Just 38 seconds later, the temperature in the room is 1,400 F. If you want to protect your possessions from an inferno like this, you will need more than a simple metal box.

To protect paper documents, cash, stocks, and other papers, you need to keep them below a temperature of 450 F. This is the temperature where paper begins to char in the presence of oxygen. There are numerous insulated fire safety storage safes and boxes that can protect valuable papers and documents. Many of these devices have undergone rigorous testing that allows the interior of the storage box to remain below 350 F a minimum of one hour even though the exterior temperature is 1,700 F! Believe it or not, this is the least stringent test.

Computer tapes, diskettes, etc. are much more sensitive. These can be damaged if temperatures exceed 125 F and/or a relative humidity of 80 percent. You can purchase storage boxes and safes that will offer this protection for more than one hour as well.

Protection from burglars is an entirely different issue. Many safes and storage boxes that protect possessions from fire offer little or no protection against a professional burglar. If you want both burglary and fire protection you will probably need to look for a composite body safe. This is a safe that combines thick high quality steel and often concrete in both the walls and door of the safe. These safes need to be very heavy (in excess of 700 lbs.) and not on wheels. Any safe that can be easily rolled or carried will not be burglar proof. The burglar will simply transport it from your home and open it at his leisure!

I would not rely on your old safe. The crude locking mechanisms on safes that are 50 years of age or older can be easily defeated by a seasoned burglar. If your little safe does contain insulation against fire, it is possible that the insulation may have deteriorated.

The location of your safe will be dictated by the type you purchase. A simple fire storage box or safe can usually be placed anywhere in the house. Don't place it in a basement where flooding is a possibility unless the manufacturer warrants that the safe is waterproof as well. Standard wood floor systems may not safely carry the weight of a large composite body safe. These may have to be located on a concrete floor. Small burglar resistive safes need to be well concealed. Some models fit in floor and wall cavities. These can be concealed with a throw rug or behind clothes in a closet. I sure hope burglars don't read this column on a regular basis!

Related Articles: Document Storage Tips, Fire & Burglar Resistant Safes, Safe Purchasing Guidelines, Selecting a Safe

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