April 29, 2007
How safe is a Safe?
It depends…
Kind of like answering the question of “how much wood can a Woodchuck chuck?”
The bad news is that most people have items of value in their home or business with no means to protect these sensitive and important items. The good news is, that even if you invest in a small lock box to protect your sensitive and important items, at least you are taking a step in the right direction. Most people may not know that there are a variety of options when it comes to safes and the right safe for you depends on what you want to store in the safe.
The answer to “how safe is a safe” is more about the construction of the safe. The entry level safes are more of a lock box. These are light weight boxes that usually have a key lock to secure the items. They also are more than likely a fire rated lock box.
Moving up the ladder, there are smaller safes that are constructed of plastic material. These safes again, are usually made to be fire resistive and do not offer a lot of burglary resistance.
Beyond this, there are safes that are made of hardened steel that we call burglary safes. There are also safes made of steel and special material within the walls of the steel that create a heat barrier (steam) against fire. Finally, there are safes called “composite” safes where the best of both worlds are offered; you get both fire and burglary resistance.
There are other considerations to take into account when figuring “how safe is a safe?” Weight is a consideration. The heavier the safe, the harder it is to move the safe. There are also burglary and fire certifications that some safes go through. For instance, Underwriter Laboratories gives certain types of safes a certification for the amount of time it takes to open a safe using certain types of tools. Or, U.L. Laboratories rates a safe on how long it can be heated to a certain temperature over a certain amount of time and still protect the contents within the safe.
As you can see, there are many variables that answer the question of “how safe is a safe.” The Safe Selection Wizard at Safe and Vault Store can help guide you to the right safe for your needs.
Now, we just have to figure out how many safes a Woodchuck can chuck!
