Buying a safe that will withstand a fire is an important concern in Southern Oregon. After the Almeda Fire of 2020, we know the importance of protecting valuables and important papers from the extremes of a completely out of control fire. People lost everything that day, including the owner of Affordable Locksmiths, Ben LaMere, who personally lost his home and business van.
The purpose of this article is to discuss which fire safes, and at what rating, would have survived the Almeda fire or one like it. Most fires are not that extreme. The fire department can assist on lesser fires, often avoiding complete destruction. But wildfires are a different animal altogether. Resources are stretched and fire crews resort to trying to establish a barrier instead of putting out individual house fires.
If you have documents, keepsakes, coins, jewelry, or other valuables you want to survive a whole house fire then read on.
How Hot Does it Get?
When a house catches fire it can reach temperatures of 1500 degrees or more, particularly in the attic. The size of the home, the amount of synthetics used in construction, as well as furnishings, carpeting, siding, roof type, and more, all contribute to how fast the fire will spread. Today, in 2023, it takes less than 10 minutes for a house to completely catch fire. In the 1970’s that number was closer to 20 minutes.
The length of the temperature extreme can be up to a few hours depending on the size of the home, however, the average home will burn down completely in that amount of time and the extreme heat is not for the entire time. If you have a large home or live in a multi-unit complex, the heat the safe endures will be much longer.
Buying a safe with the right fire rating for your important documents such as passports, cash, titles, and wills, as well as pictures, and other combustible valuables needs to be factored into your safe purchase. Jewelry will be fine since metal melt points are 1750 degrees for silver and 1950 degrees for gold. (We will cover what you need to know for the best theft resistant safes in our next article). Hard drives or DVD’s are another matter.
Fire Ratings
A safe fire rating for paper documents is a rating indicating how long the internal contents of the safe will remain below 350°F. This is because paper begins to combust at 450°F. If you want to protect computer media, Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certifies safes at 125°F (hard drives), 150°F (film), and CD’s, DVD’s, and flash memory should survive at temperatures above 150°F, but not as hot as 350°F.
When it comes to safes, UL has a fire rating that is the UL 72 Standard for Tests for Fire Resistance of Record Protection Equipment. The UL 72 safe fire rating test results in a safe receiving a fire class rating for a specific temperature and a length of time.
Here are some examples:
Class 125 – 1 HR means the contents of the safe will be less than 125° for 1 hr at 1700°
Class 350 – ½ HR means the contents of the safe will be less than 350°F for 30 minutes at 1550°
Class 350 – 1 HR means the contents of the safe will be less than 350°F for 1 hr at 1700°
Class 350 – 2 HR means the contents of the safe will be less than 350°F for 2 hrs at 1850°
Another rating you might read about is an ETL (Electrical Testing Laboratories) verification. ETL is similar to UL but is less rigorous in their testing. ETL provides information about waterproof capabilities and a safe’s integrity when dropped 15 feet, among others.
Our rule of thumb is if the home is under 1500 sq ft, you should purchase a 1 HR fire rated safe. If you live in a larger house, an adjoining condo, or an apartment building, you will want a 2 HR rated safe.
About That Digital Media
Since we know approximately how long a catastrophic single-family fire lasts, we can focus on Class 350 – 1 HR or 2 HR safes and be confident our documents will withstand the fire. If you have digital media like DVD’s of every picture ever taken or hard drives with important files, you need to get a Class 125 – 1 HR which might burst your safe budget. There is a better option for digital media and that is storage on the cloud or a service like Dropbox. After the Almeda Fire a friend fared well (except losing his home) by having all of his records, accounting, and pictures stored online.
You Get What You Pay For
Safes are like parachutes, when you need one you don’t want it to be made cheap. Simply put, cheap safes are cheaply made. They don’t protect what’s inside. If a safe isn’t UL rated the manufacturer is simply making untested claims. Many cheap safes won’t even make it 10 minutes in a fire. To further complicate things a safe may have a 1 HR fire rating but be useless against theft. We recommend safes manufactured by American Security, Gardall, and Fire King. If a safe is UL rated and doesn’t state the temperature class, you can assume it is a 350 degree safe.
You can get a quality UL rated 1 HR fire safe for $450, like this one from American Security. And since it’s made by American Security, it has great theft protection as well. Gardall makes a 1 HR fire safe for $400. This American Security 1 HR safe features:
UL 1 HR rating
Dial combo lock with key operated side locking mechanism incorporating 2 chromed locking bolts
Impressive 1/2 inch thick door with 1 hour UL fire rating
2 side bolt to prevent door removal during forcible entry
Includes one shelf
13.5″D x 15.68″W x 19.12″H
Where to Locate Your Safe
Once you have purchased your safe, you need to locate it where it will be exposed to the least amount of heat in the event of a whole house fire. We know heat rises so the lower the better. We don’t have a lot of basements in Southern Oregon so first floor level or the garage are common locations, often bolted down.
At Affordable Locksmiths, we are happy to discuss the right safe for you, where to locate it in your home, and installation. Give us a call today.
