Will My "Fireproof" Safe Really Survive a Fire?

How fireproof is a fireproof safe? It's a real concern for California residents who've had to deal with devastating wildfires. NBC Bay Area consumer investigator Chris Chmura went in search of what happens when a safe is exposed to 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit. He takes us inside the FireKing factory in Indiana where safes are built -- and destroyed.
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[@RuffKutz]

Seems like the only way to protect your belongings is to keep them in a fire resistant safe but keep the safe away from fire.

[@talaverajr391]

Burry it.

[@zacharylee1995]

Exactly

[@VVayVVard]

You can pad the inside/outside of the fire-resistant safe with fire-resistant materials like rockwool if you're feeling paranoid. But the average house fire only lasts ~1 hour on average, and house fires generally go up to 1200 F / 650 C, which is what a lot of UL-rated safes are rated to resist for 1 h. Of course, something like an asteroid impact would decimate just about everything, and the only way to safeguard against this type of eventuality would be to store your safe in a 1-mile deep underground shelter. The only problem is that this would be prohibitively expensive to anyone who doesn't happen to own or have access to a deep mine. Either way, based on what we know of typical house fires and their burning durations and temperatures, many fire-resistant safes do provide statistically adequate protection.

[@dragonkat13]

sitting here watching tons of fire safe reviews and none make me feel any better, haha

[@StrongManMattt]

guess its just another scam lol...

[@kidaria1333]

buy lots of fire extinguisher (and a few in every room)

[@jasonlommen4769]

A company that actually changed their advertising claim...amazing!

[@tlangdon12]

I think you have to admire the integrity of changing their rating to something that they know is less appealing to customers but which is factually correct. Well done Fireking.

[@hoodedferret]

The solution generally seems to be layers of protection, i.e. UL-certified fire resistant boxes inside of larger UL-certified fire resistant boxes/cabinets. If the exterior box caps out at 350 F internal temperature, then it stands to reason that the box inside of that one should reach that same internal temperature even more slowly. Thermodynamics is a complex science and I'm not sure what equations to use here, but surely layering in this way would give you at least 1.5x longer protection versus a single container.

[@loydbrush2041]

Here’s the thing… My neighborhood is in the woods. I don’t for one minute believe my house would only burn for an hour. There’s no such thing as a safe that will keep your belongings safe from a wildlife!

[@CaseyCJL]

The only thing that works is if the safe is built into the concrete foundation of the home. and it has to be super legit at the same time. like a 2 hour UL listed in that scenario.

[@VVayVVard]

Just dig a hole.

[@storminmormin14]

I wish people knew more about this stuff.

[@shaynelhta]

Crazy idea here: if you're concerned about your safe not surviving a fire, what about putting a few cases of water on top of the safe? If it was hot enough, it would melt open the water bottles and even though its only a few gallons of water, it could substantially reduce the heat.

[@timothywhieldon1971]

that was rigged. you can clearly see that they used a safe that has no fire seal. in order for any safe to be fire rated, a expanding fire seal must be used. I have seen quite a few home fires in my day and some fairly budget friendly safes do JUST FINE. Granted i would not have anything non UL listed in a place with no sprinkler system. Fire Kings are awesome and no doubt that a cheap drywall safe is junk and won't really protect things flawlessly but they do a decent job

[@jonny777bike]

Putting emergency cash in a safe idea is good just don’t put all your belongings in a home safe. At that point get a deposit box at the bank.

[@silsahchne7236]

Banks are concrete and steel and deposit boxes are sometimes located 1 level down under ground and located in an area where a fire station is right around the corner so for a few dollars a year, that's your best bet

[@william38022]

Now test stealth safe(both regular and concrete composite variety) and guard all safe and rhino safe and Berg watcher safe and The burglary and fire rated American security safes

[@MrNohesitation]

7000 people had nothing to say ..🤔

[@JohnathanNoechelShunn]

Maybe they had comments off then turned them on

[@christosemper8715]

That safe looks like a Winchester safe sold at tractor supply rates 1200 degrees for 30 minutes

[@d.b.1176]

It’s less expensive and easier to just buy insurance.

[@pmaint1]

Home insurance will not cover more than$500.00 in cash,or so I'm told.

[@atexc5604]

Insurance for documents/photos/souvenirs from the ones you already lost? They are useless paper for everyone but you.

[@d.b.1176]

@@atexc5604 you do you Boo

[@timothywhieldon1971]

Code compliance is 5/8" fire rated drywall 2 layers thiick that is seamed and tapped. all those cheap safes are junk because of 1 layer of 1/2 inch. want a decent fire rating, double up some 5/8 and seam it then reinstall the 1/2 and trim to fit.

[@laryangel4082]

Tt

[@reyrevilla4075]

1200°f fire hahaha. YOU WISH!!