Valuable objects come in all sorts with both similar and distinct vulnerabilities. There are manmade and natural forces that could potentially threaten your most prize possessions. At the same time, there are plenty of different types of safes available and not all of them have the same uses. However, if you want to protect against one threat like fire, will you be vulnerable to another?
Whether you are a lawyer protecting legal documents, an estate agent looking to protect property papers or a regular person protecting your birth certificates, fire resistance is important, but so is the threat of burglary. Before you look at that question, first think about the things you are protecting and
which type of safe is the best for your needs.
What are the Different Types of Safes?
Security - The best kind of safe to use when you want to protect your valuables from criminals is a security safe. These safes are designed to withstand the most aggressive attempts at cracking that a potential thief can muster. Security safes are the best option when you want to protect large amounts of cash and expensive possessions.
Fire - A fire safe is a haven for important documents, digital media and other valuables that are vulnerable to heat damage. If a fire were to spread through your home the contents of this type of safe would be rescued from damage that could be caused by smoke, heat or flame. Even if a house were to burn down a fire safe would give its contents the best chance of survival.
Water - In some places, a flood is just as likely as a fire, if not more likely. In this case, it is a good idea to have a safe that is rated to resist flooding and protect against water damage. Water resistant safes are often added as an additional feature of fire safes. Some, however, are specifically designed to withstand both fire and water damage. For instance,
the Burton Aquasec Fire/Water Security Digital Safe is completely water proof as well as resistant to flame. In fact, if you choose not to bolt this safe down it will float.
There are two different kinds of safes with three different available functions. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that if you try to protect against one threat, your safe is completely open to another. Even fire safes have some level of protection against burglary, though they may not be able to stand up against everything. So how do you know if your fire safe is good enough to also protect your valuables against thieves?
Robert’s Rating
One way to check a fire safe’s vulnerability to burglary is by using
Robert’s Rating when shopping for different kinds of safes. This rating describes a particular safe’s specific security level, fire resistance and how long it can protect fire from heat damage. This rating was developed in order to make the process of choosing a safe easier and to let you see a safe’s proficiency for different uses. When you look at a fire safe you can also easily see how well it will protect against burglary.
When fire protection is your primary goal you don’t necessarily have to give up on security. Just check the rating and keep the overall value of the contents at a level that is appropriate for its security.
