The Smart Shopper’s Guide to Buying
Interested in purchasing a fire-resistant safe but don’t know where to start with? You’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’re sharing tried-and-tested advice for savvy shoppers who are looking for the best fire resistant safes that provide the most value for your money.
Why Every Home or Office Benefits from Having Fire Resistant Safes
Before we jump into the tips, let’s take a look at the reasons why fire resistant safes are a must-have for every home or office. First of all, every home needs a safe, especially if there are important documents or items that need to be safeguarded against theft or damage. When choosing a safe, however, it’s ideal to have one that includes more design features or elements that take into account other events, such as fires or floods. With that in mind, if you’re already investing money into buying a safe, it’s better to throw in a few extra dollars to choose one that’s fire-resistant. Especially because fires are more common in Australia than floods.
How to Choose the Right Fire Resistant Safe
There are several considerations to take into account when shopping for the best fireproof safe Australia has to offer, and below are the most important ones:
1. Cost vs. Value
There’s an incredible range of costs for safes, and they’re often determined by the features and material used. To give you a better idea, a fire resistant safe that can hold small documents and money can cost anywhere between $100-$500 AUD. Take note, however, that a higher price doesn’t necessarily translate into better value. You’ll need to take a look at the safe’s other features, such as if it provides protection from water (in addition to fires) or if there are digital security features included.
The two things that do have the biggest effect on the price of a safe are size and weight, which we’ll be discussing more in the next point.
2. Size and Weight
The typical weight of a small safe is around 5 to 6 kg and can hold a storage volume of about 1.133e+7 cubic millimetres – enough for letter-sized documents and small valuables. For offices or homes that require a truly heavy-duty safe, you can also find safes that are over 1,778 millimetres tall and can fit everything from firearms to miniature statues. As you may have already guessed, they are a considerable investment and can cost upward of $22,000 AUD. However, this is understandably too much for most people.
3. Level of Protection
A truly fire resistant safe can provide protection for up to 2 hours even in temperatures of up to 800° celsius. Most moderately-priced safes can only withstand fires for about 30 minutes. Depending on what kind of fire you’d like to be prepared for, you may have to adjust your budget. Especially because sturdier safes are generally more expensive.
Another kind of protection to consider is the warranty. Moderately-priced safes can come with a 2- to 5-year limited warranty. Most safes these days, however, don’t have one. Naturally, it’s smarter to choose from vendors that can offer some form of protection so you’re covered in case something malfunctions or breaks.
Australia is a country that can have scorching-hot weather, which can sometimes lead to forest fires. Even if your home isn’t located near fire-prone areas, it’s still a smart choice to invest in fire resistant safes so you can have better peace of mind.
