Can a Safe Be Made Fireproof at Home?

Fire-resistant safes do not necessarily need extra protection. If homeowners select highly rated safes, considerable fireproofing already is included in the design. Placement of the safe in a part of the house that is less vulnerable to fire damage will help. Surrounding the safe with a simple fireproof structure will also increase the amount of time that a safe can resist high temperatures. Success varies with the type of materials stored inside the safe since different items suffer damage at different temperatures.

Understanding Ratings

Two different testing standards apply to home fireproof safes. Safes are rated to protect certain types of contents for specific periods of time. For in-house fire conditions with temperatures reaching 1550 degrees Fahrenheit, a UL-approved safe with a half hour rating will protect paper documents for 30 minutes without damage. ETL half hour approval means the safe will protect electronic media, including CD's and flash drives for that same 30-minute period. Home safes that protect documents or media do not necessarily offer sufficient protection for collectibles or photographic negatives. The maximum period of time rated by UL or ETL standards is four hours.

Location

One of the safest places for a fireproof safe is embedded in the concrete wall of a basement. Unless the safe is built into the house from the start, that can also be a difficult and expensive installation. A poor location would be anywhere in the upper structure of a building. On the upper floors a safe could eventually be completely surrounded by intense flames. On lower floors the fire would be most intense above and to the sides, giving the safe less exposure to heat damage. So place the home safe in the lowest practical location.

Surroundings

Choose a place least likely to suffer intense fire damage. Closets built on the lowest floor--with fire-resistant drywall paneling--and located in a corner of the building are most likely to survive a fire. In an area where fire protection services are adequate, that part of the home may survive without severe damage even if the building is a total loss. Even a solid wood closet door closed against the flames offers good protection.

Drywall

A simple surrounding framework of 2x4's with an interior and exterior panel of 5/8 inch gypsum drywall and 3 1/2 inches of mineral wood insulation between the panels will give an extra hour of protection to a safe located indoors. The contents of even a low-rated fireproof safe could survive a house fire if the safe is protected by such an enclosure.

Other Damage

Safe manufacturers warrant the safe itself against manufacturing defects but do not cover damage of the safe or anything stored within it. Water damage is as great a threat as fire damage, but many fireproof safes are not waterproof. Fireproof safes also do not necessarily deter theft. Unless bolted to the building itself, many are light enough to carry. Many fireproof models are easily cracked open with simple tools.

References

• Home Safe Ratings
• Fireproof Home Safes
• Designing for Code Acceptance