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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Brett_in_Sacto, post: 2285366, member: 71510&quot;]Fire ratings on Residential Security Containers (safes) are subjective - and to some extent not even verified by an objective 3rd party with certain fly-by-night companies.&nbsp; I studied this a lot last year before we bought one for our business.&nbsp; This is one place where quality really counts&nbsp; -if only once in your life (hopefully never - if you&#039;re lucky)</p><p><br /></p><p>Be careful when they only use &quot;time&quot; as the deciding factor.&nbsp; You need to look at time/temperature and the resistance inside the safe - i.e. what the safe will show inside.</p><p><br /></p><p>Most say fire rated xx minutes at yyyy temperature (i.e. 30min at 1200 degrees)</p><p><br /></p><p>That is a key deciding factor.&nbsp; The average house fire is stated at 1100 degrees.&nbsp; So if a safe is rated 30min at 1200 - you may get 35min at 1100 - assuming your fire is &quot;average&quot; and beyond that, everything else in the safe will eventually come up to the temperature of the fire.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The measurement threshold is actually 350 degrees internal temperature - which by the way is still hot enough to bake a cake!</p><p><br /></p><p>The temp is set outside (say 1200 degrees) and then the time is measured until the internal temp inside the safe hits 350 degrees.</p><p><br /></p><p>It may not melt, but it will get soft, and if it falls or gets hit while hot, it will get charred, scarred and damaged.&nbsp; Currency can be destroyed at much lower temperatures.&nbsp; Consider this if storing currency/cash.</p><p><br /></p><p>Consider what your house is made of - especially where the safe will sit.&nbsp; Think about how long it will take for the fire department to arrive and put out the fire (if you live in the sticks, you will need a much longer rating).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Think about where your safe is located as well.&nbsp; If it&#039;s in the middle of the house with no access, it may take a while for the fire fighters to get to it - assuming they even can.</p><p><br /></p><p>Enough cannot be said to build a safety buffer.&nbsp; It&#039;s better to have too much protection than not enough.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Think strategically when placing the safe.&nbsp; Easy access for you = easy access for thieves - but also for fire fighters.</p><p><br /></p><p>If it&#039;s in the garage, expect hotter temps.&nbsp; Car fuel, cans of combustibles, lots of fuel and air flow = hot fire.</p><p><br /></p><p>You can find &quot;cheap safes&quot; all over.&nbsp; Costco has some good prices on average quality - but they are not top end.&nbsp; The best seller is the &quot;Bighorn&quot; which delivers 30min @ 1200 degrees for $599.00</p><p><br /></p><p>In my book a minimum of 90min is required.&nbsp; By the time there is a fire, a call is made, people get on site and actually start putting water on it to cool the area - it could be a while.</p><p><br /></p><p>And for cryin&#039; out loud - BOLT IT DOWN!!!!!!!&nbsp; Otherwise anyone with the ability to move a fridge can get that thing out in minutes.&nbsp; So many stories of &quot;well we didn&#039;t bolt it down&quot; and someone came in with a big dolly.</p><p><br /></p><p>I hope this helps![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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