Guest Post: "Are Safes Safe", by AGXIIK

This short analysis was prepared to help settle arguments pro and con regarding the use of fire safes for high value items including, gold, silver, numismatics, cash, stock certificates and important personal papers as well as digital media.

Comments and questions on this article are welcomed and appreciated.

Yesterday there was a video on TFMR showing how a small Sentry safe good for documents, cash and other paper items endured a small fire. These safes might only have half a cu ft in storage space but this one held up well. It's cheaply made with an easily picked lock but it was reasonably water proof.

The fire test proved it's ability to endure 1 hour at 1,750 degrees. The fire proofing is a type of material with water embedded in the matrix which keeps the paper contents safe, unburned and uncharred. It passed the basic test and should hold up well in fire conditions, even a house fire.

The next safe was the standard Sentry 1.24 to 1.5 cu in box with a dual locking system of a battery powered electronic dial and a key lock. Water infused concrete did the job of handling a hot fire in excess of 1500 degrees for 75 minutes. Inside temperature did not get over 250 degrees. All contents were undamaged and in good condition.

I'd say this safe would be a good choice for important papers, cash and a substantial amount of gold or silver. I've used a safe like this for over 25 years but never saw it challenged to the extremes that also made it a good choice. Both smaller safes have silica gel packets to keep moisture to a minimum but need to be recharged periodically to avoid the dread condition I call 'Safe Stank'.

The last test was a full sized gun safe easily capable storing 12-24 guns, ammo, owner manuals, plastic materials and other items. Some are real giants that require special equipment for delivery. The one test most relevant in my judgement was one in which a large gun safe survived a full-on house fire. The safe was removed after home burned andnthe fire department did their job of dousing embers. It was subject to high heat for an extended period as well as being doused with water. FD was not pleased to find the safe was removed from the home site.

One element to gun safe efficacy is the nature of a fire. If it's a static test fire with a contained flame the object is not subject to convection heating. Static heating is something used to cook a turkey.

A convection fire is more like a blow torch heating that causes immediate temperature increases. Static testing normally does not create the convection currents that cause extreme heat transfer to a fire safe during a house fire. Some tests done in lab conditions, modest in scope and necessarily so, containing the flame and heat. Thus the safe might not be subject to the total heating effect of a house fire.

In the house fire the safe was later removed to a safe location, allowed to cool down and opened using a metal saw. The safe metal was reasonably thick steel and with a concrete liner. This was a HEAVY duty safe.

Once opened, video shots were very revealing. While the safe didn't have any precious metals it had everything else that could be used as a means to determine the efficacy of any fire rating test. While the outside temperature probably exceeded 1200 degrees for at least an hour, it was estimated that the internal temperature did not come close to that needed to char papers much less melt metal. Some safes will see an internal temp up to 570-600 degrees for 23 minutes but this one saw 1200 degrees for as long as it took the house to burn down.

It appeared that this safe had a 90 minute rating so, in a 1200 plus degree fire, it did it's job and then some. One caveat. The safe leaked. A suggestion for those storing guns. Fire arms, important papers and cash be put in a water proof air tight plastic bags. Water is always present in a safe, whether in vapor form or H2O that leaked in during a fire.

The safe was filled with long guns, maybe 10-12, plus several polymer framed pistols, loaded plastic magazines and hundreds of rounds of various caliber ammo. The highest temperature in the safe was not recorded but since it was not water proof or air proof it's likely the inside temp did not exceed 480 degrees, the common point for paper to burn. But it was high enough to cook off some ammo.

Aside from the 7mm rifle rounds that detonated none of the ammo appeared damaged. 9mm and 40 cal appeared unharmed but being that this ammo was subject to 450 degrees for an extended period of time, I would never try to use it. Heat damages primers and gun powder even if the brass and lead was unfazed.

The long guns, including Remington shotgun, various ARs and mini 14 Ruger, did not 'appear' to be damaged by the heat. The real and very evident damage was extensive rust on all the guns. The loaded mags were sound and the pistols rifles and shot guns cycled. Wood furniture was also intact as were the scopes.

My observations, given the rust and high heat, is almost certain to have damaged delicate mechanisms, pitted barrels and could have done unrevealed damage to the special metals used in the chambers and barrels.

if it was me and I had insurance I would have these guns scrapped to insure that none were used. There is a slight chance that the gun could suffer a major malfunction during use and cause a barrel or breach detonation. The ammo must be scrapped.

Maybe a gun smith could repair the damage so that the guns have an appearance of functionality but I would never chance a barrel detonation. Been there and got the t shirt when that happened.

Cars damaged by floods can also be fixed up and sold but permanent damage always ensues after a car's in a flood.

IMO I think the gun safe would protect sealed monster boxes of American Silver Eagles too.

With each safe proving its value as a means to store things that hold high value including papers, cash or precious metals, I'd say any safe sold on the retail or commercial market would do the job well and give you great service for decades.

Two questions still remain:

Would a good gun safe have saved Hunter Biden's potty art that was destroyed when his attorney's home burned. The art work consisting of Hunter's excretions was reputed to be worth millions.

No shit! What's the combustion level of caca?

That's an important question if you're planning to store $10,000,000 in Fart Coins or Unicorn Fart Dust.

this is a really good video of what happens inside a fire proof gun safe that survived a real house fire
(1) We open a fireproof gun safe after a house fire - See what’s inside! - YouTube

Here is another example of fire safes keeping contents intact.
(1) Two Sturdy Gun Safes Survive Complete Burn With No Water | Best Fireproof Safe | Fire Safe - YouTube

there are dozens of videos that show tests of fire safes ranging from 1.25 cu ft to 8-10 cu ft safes that hold 24 guns and related materials. If you plan to invest in a small 1.25 cu ft, a 4 cu ft or a 7-9 cu ft fire safe do your due diligence after you determine what you want protected and how large a safe you need .

Fire King real world testing of UL and Non-UL fire files and safes.
(1) Will My "Fireproof" Safe Really Survive a Fire? - YouTube

Examples of 3 safes ranging from the small, medium and large.

0.94 cu. Ft. Waterproof and Fire Resistant Safe I own two of these:

SentrySafe 4.71 cu ft Fireproof Safe and Waterproof Safe with Digital Keypad EF4738E - The Home Depot

I plan to buy one this size for numismatic coins and personal documents.

Sanctuary 6.0 cu. ft. Gun Safe, Electronic Lock, Water & Fire Rated | Costco

Again, please share your own thoughts and comments on this thread.

About the Author

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tfmetalsreport [at] gmail [dot] com ()

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