Fire ratings are often overlooked but should be one of your top considerations. The recommend that you purchase a minimum 1 hour fire rated safe. Safes with less than a 1 hour fire rating will not provide adequate protection to survive a typical home or business fire. Why spend your hard earned money on a safe that won’t protect your guns, ammo or other valuables during a fire? If you are on a limited budget then select the safe with the longest fire protection that you can afford.
Many customers have read that a fire rated gun safe will protect their important documents. This is only partly true. If you are thinking of placing any important documents or delicate items in a gun safe consider adding greater protection by investing in a small U.L. rated or U.S. made certified fire box you can place inside the gun safe for your paperwork and more delicate items.
Don’t forget the fire seal on the door, Some cheap safes don’t even have fire seals on the door but a fire seal is an important part of a good fire rating. Another thing the fire seal will do is seal out most moisture from entering the safe on a day to day basis, this will help keeps rust and corrosion off of your guns or other valuables. During a fire the fire seal will expand to seal out fire and smoke and keep water from entering the safe if water is sprayed on the safe in the course of extinguishing the fire. One of the most popular brands of fire seal is Palusol brand fire seals. It will expand to 6 times it original size during a fire and completely seal the space between the frame and door of the safe.