In the last post, I talked about the two different types of safes: fire resistant and burglar resistant (plus the combo fire/burglar resistant safe, which is really just an amalgamation of the two). This time I’ll focus in on the first of the two types, the fire resistant safe. A fire resistant safe is not designed to prevent penetration but is instead to protect its contents from fire, specifically paper.
The walls of a fire resistant safe is usually made of thin metal and is double-walled, the inside of which is filled with an insulation that releases moisture when heated - thus keeping the interior temperature low enough to prevent the paper from burning. There are also fire-resistant media safes available and they differ slightly in construction (more insulation) because media is more sensitive to heat and humidity.
Most safes will have a one to two hour rating by the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) or another testing agency, meaning it can protect against fire for one to two hours; some smaller safes have half hour ratings but most will be rated for one to two hours. If you’re looking for a safe to protect your personal papers, a one to two hour rated safe will usually be adequate. There are also four hour rated safes and those are generally used for record rooms and experts consider it overkill for home or commercial use.
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