Opinions--Fire Protection for Important Papars

[daveferg]

After seeing the devastation of some of these houses lost to the wild fires out here-----starting to second guess the steps I've taken.

We have a Sentury Safe----floor mounted in our garage (the lowest part of the house, on a slab). As any fire will burn up and there's no combustibles under the safe, I figured this was about the best location.

But having seen some of these houses which obviously had high heat----beginning to wonder.

Any thoughts? We're trying to keep the number of locations where we need to gather items to take in case of an evacuation.

Now, the safe is still the best solution if there were ever a fire when we were gone, but open to suggestions.

[CLETUS]

It all depends on the fire rating of your safe.

[Jeremy s]

Fireking.com ...look at the 2 hour rated cabinets
I bought a Fireking 2-1929-2 2 hour fire rated file cabinet and am really happy with it. It is 477 pounds. I wanted the best rating.
I am going to get another also for another location in the shop.

Also look at TL30x6 burglary safes ...about the best rating. I have a big one of those and it is 2400 pounds...Inkas Safes

I would not be suprised if a little Sentry safe melted into a puddle

[Jeremy s]

Also Fire King has a lot of other good fire rated storage products.

[PhilJoines]

Bank box.

[fredhargis]

The only thing I keep wondering about home safes (I have one as well) is how do you get into the thing after a devastating fire? I mean, the locking mechanism is going to be toast, so it will take an angle grinder, torch, or the Jaws of Life to open the thing (seems to me). I'm thinking a safe deposit box at the bank may be a better alternative.

[vernonator]

So...do you need original copies of the documents you are storing? Do you need instant access?

Here is what I do - for the really important things (house abstract, birth certs, etc)
1) Scan them so I have an electronic copy
2) Put them in my banks Safe Deposit Box

If I don't need originals (all my warranties, large item receipts, mortgage statements, tax papers, etc). I just scan them and skip step 2.

My scans are backed up online automatically via Carbonite. Easy Peasy and no expense for a safe.

Something I may need daily? I keep a hard copy in the gun safe (90min fire rating) and a 2nd in the safe deposit box.

[CLETUS]

fredhargis said:

---

The only thing I keep wondering about home safes (I have one as well) is how do you get into the thing after a devastating fire? I mean, the locking mechanism is going to be toast, so it will take an angle grinder, torch, or the Jaws of Life to open the thing (seems to me). I'm thinking a safe deposit box at the bank may be a better alternative.

---

I have a Champion safe, they will open the safe if it's damaged.

However, I went with a keyed combination lock with the thought that I might be able to open it in the event of a fire.

[Cooler]

When I used to sell building materials one of our vendors proved to us that cinder block, which has a 2 hour fire rating, proved in real life to be much lower.

"Green cinder block" (fairly new with a high moisture content) will get the 2 hour rating. But cinder block that has dried out over 5 or 10 years will fail far earlier--less than one hour and sometimes as little as 30 minutes.

My understanding is that some of the fire rated safes are lined with concrete. I never cracked one open to see. But if that is the case then I suspect that the fire rating would go down over time.

I suppose you could break through the concrete in the corner of the garage and pour a cavity that was large enough to contain the safe. Being below the flamables it would be much less apt to be subjected to the same heat (and surrounded with concrete and soil too).

I guess you could build a cinder block enclosure around the safe. Just wet out the cinder block a few times a year to keep the fire rating up.

I suspect that asbestos is a bad idea.

Someone suggested a safety deposit box. Not too expensive. It sounds like the best alternative.

[jteneyck]

Dave, no home safe will protect your papers in a devastating fire. I used to fire test those things. Most are junk. The ones that weigh hundreds of pounds last the longest, but that's still only a couple of hours against a standardized test that's not nearly as severe as a devastating house fire. Anything that you can carry is a waste of money. If you want to protect your important papers put them in safe deposit box at the bank of your choice. That's where mine are.

John