- What are the important items that you are trying to protect?
- From what or whom are you trying to protect those items from?
Right off the bat your answers are probably going to be along the line of protecting your valuables or guns from burglars. But you do not need to own a gun or own expensive jewels to have a need for a safe in your home. And it is not just burglars you need to protect your important items from either. If you choose the right safe, you could also protect those items from fire and smoke, too. So, what you should be looking for is a safe that is both burglar-resistant AND fire-resistant.
The Size of a Home Safe Matters
Go back and think for a minute about what items you would like to protect with your safe. Make sure that the safe you choose can hold all the things you want to protect. But you should also consider going with a safe that is a little larger to protect all the things that you realize you should be protecting later.
Choosing a Safe Because of Its Burglar-Resistance
You should choose a safe that has a great security rating from UL. A safe’s construction and features are rated according to how difficult it would be for a burglar to break. A simple fire safe that you might be able to purchase in your local big box store might provide some fire-resistance for your important documents. But it would be a piece a cake for a burglar to break into. Liberty Safe’s entry level home safe is UL listed and features:
- 12-gauge steel construction
- Triple case-hardened steel plates to protect the lock from a drill attack
- Bank-like UL listed electronic lock
- Failsafe relockers that keep the lock secure against drilling or pounding
- Seven to nine one-inch locking bolts on all four door sides
Make Sure the Safe Is Fire-Resistant
Do not assume that because a safe is burglar-resistant that it is automatically fire-resistant, too. There are different standards with safes that you should be aware of. When considering a safe, make sure to ask how long the safe will protect the items inside from fire. For instance, a Liberty Premium home safe:
- Is rated to provide up to 90 minutes of fire protection at 1200 degree heat
- Features four layers of fire protection in the ceiling and three in its walls, door and doorjambs
- Has a heat-activated, expanding Palusol door seal