No one likes to think about the what-ifs if your home was to catch fire. But whether you live in a wildfire-prone area or not, stop for a moment and think. You would do whatever is necessary to protect your family from the impending danger of a fire. But what about the aftermath?
Knowing ahead of time that your safe could survive a fire could make the recovery process a little easier for your family. You can protect important documents, irreplaceable family photos and other mementos.
The Games Safe Makers Play
Whether your safe is equipped to survive a catastrophic fire depends on the brand and the level of safe fire protection it’s designed to provide. But not all safes that claim they provide fire protection do that. If you already own a safe, do you know if your safe will withstand fire?
Many safes either offer fire protection or security protection. Not all safes offer both. A safe that’s designed to provide superior fire protection will be made with thick steel, multiple layers of UL fire-rated sheetrock and door seals that are designed to keep smoke and heat out of your safe.
Some safe manufacturers claim their safes will protect their contents up to 1400 degrees. But here’s the problem with that: The furnace testing process used for safes is self-regulated. You might think because your safe’s manufacturer says it will withstand up to 1400 degrees, it’s a superior safe. But what you don’t know is how they tested that safe.
When we fire-test Liberty safes, we rely on science. The highest temperatures during a fire start 10 minutes in. So, while other manufacturers take 20-30 minutes to ramp up to 1200 or 1400 degrees, Liberty’s furnace is ramped up to 1200 degrees in 10 minutes.
Can Your Safe’s Manufacturer Show Proof?
Not many safe manufacturers can provide you with real-life stories of safes that have survived devastating fires where everything else in a home was destroyed. But Liberty can! We have testimonials from owners of Liberty safes that survived California’s Atlas and Carr fires. In the Carr fire testimonial, the owner tells the story of how when his Liberty safe was opened, its contents were intact, but when his friend’s safe – which wasn’t a Liberty – was opened, its contents were reduced to ash.
If you already own a safe, it could be time to upgrade to a Liberty for added safe fire protection.