When people think of safes, they often focus on burglary protection. However, fire can also destroy valuable assets, costing you time, money, and potentially your entire business.
With over 16 years of experience as a fireproof safe specialist, I’ve seen many misconceptions about fire safety. Here are a few common ones I’ve had to address:
Aren’t all safes fireproof, like they are for theft protection?
Unfortunately, no. While a burglary-safe offers some fire resistance because the materials inside its walls act as insulators, it only provides protection for a short period and at relatively low temperatures. Even safes with the same burglary protection level can have vastly different fire protection capabilities.
The same concept applies to fire suppression systems in buildings. For instance, in an IT room, chemical suppression systems may create debris, destroying data, while sprinklers leave a soggy mess. A fire safe, however, is a silent insurance policy, a safeguard for the worst-case scenario.
While insurance companies may require you to secure valuables, fire protection is often overlooked compared to theft protection.
But isn’t fire protection outdated now that everything is stored in the Cloud?
We’ve been hearing about the paperless office since the late 1980s, yet it’s still a work in progress! While many businesses rely on the Cloud, physical records and media are still essential. If a fire strikes, having critical data stored in a fireproof safe can help you recover with minimal disruption. Digital storage is increasingly compact, making it more vulnerable to fire damage.
Fireproof safes offer different temperature tolerances depending on what you need to protect: documents (below 170°C), data media like CDs and DVDs (below 70°C), and magnetic media like memory sticks (below 50°C). If your safe is only rated for documents, a fire could destroy your digital media.
The following temperatures indicate the heat toleration levels, the point at which digital media and documents are lost to fire. It is a fire safe’s job to ensure its internal temperature remains below these destructive levels.
Isn’t it excessive to worry about fire protection? It’s not like losing data in a fire is critical to the business, right?
Consider what happens if you lose critical data after a fire—contracts, invoices, employee records, or inventory systems. How will you continue operations without them? Many businesses never fully recover from a fire, losing vital records, orders, and cash flow. Insurance can be a long process, and proving ownership of items lost in a fire (like property deeds) can be nearly impossible.
Do you have any examples of how important fireproof safes can be?
Yes. A bank in the Middle East that lost all the loan agreements and property deeds for 70,000 people when a branch burned down. It was estimated they lost hundreds of millions of dollars. They are now considering fireproof safes for all their branches.
Another one is a Swedish bank. In February 2008, a massive fire destroyed computers and materials in a branch. However, thanks to their newly installed fire-resistant safes, key documents and data remained intact, allowing the bank to resume operations in just three days.
A fireproof safe is a silent insurance policy. It doesn’t degrade or expire—it just works, day in and day out.
Do fireproof safes use a lot of asbestos?
No. Modern fireproof safes typically use aerated, gypsum-based concrete containing up to 80% water. This material undergoes an endothermic reaction when heated, releasing steam to absorb heat and maintain lower temperatures.
For data safes, a composite barrier includes foam concrete to keep temperatures below 100°C, along with insulation materials like special polyurethane foam and “phase change” materials that absorb heat when they transition from solid to liquid.
How are fireproof safes tested?
It’s more scientific than simply exposing a safe to fire. Some manufacturers may claim their safes are fire-tested, but it’s essential to check certifications. The two most recognized standards are the European EN 1047-1 and the American UL Standard 72, among others. These tests simulate the heat of a fire and the impact of a safe potentially falling through multiple floors of a building. The safe must maintain a temperature below 170°C for documents and below 50°C for digital media.
Certified fire safes come with an information label detailing the resistance time and type of testing the safe has undergone. No label means no certification.
In summary:
- A burglary safe offers limited fire protection, which is usually not enough.
- The paperless office is still a far-off goal, and physical data storage remains essential.
- A fireproof safe is a critical asset for businesses, safeguarding documents and digital media.
- Having a certified, reliable fireproof safe ensures that your business can survive even the most catastrophic fires.
For More Details Do Check Out our Full Safes Catalogue by pressing on the sentance below:
