Q–A friend of mine recently lost many of her valuables in a house fire. Is there a simple way to protect valuable papers, documents and computer diskettes from a house fire and burglars? I have access to an older, small floor safe. Will this be adequate? Where is the best place to install a house safe?
A–I know what your friend is going through. Five years ago, I visited a house that had been destroyed by a fire. The wife was home when a painter working in the living room noticed smoke coming from a furnace vent.
The house was two blocks from the firehouse. The fire department responded to the call immediately and began applying water to the fire within 6 minutes. But the family still lost nearly all of their possessions. I was shocked at the speed of the fire and the extent of the damage.
The power and fury of a typical house fire is greatly underestimated by the general public. The National Fire Protection Association has conducted tests involving the growth and temperatures of fires.
Did you know that just three minutes and three seconds after the start of an average living room fire involving a couch, the temperature three feet above the floor within the room is over 500 degrees Fahrenheit? Just 38 seconds later, the temperature in the room is 1,400 F. If you want to protect your possessions from an inferno like this, you will need more than a simple metal box.
To protect paper documents, cash, stocks and other papers, you need to keep them below a temperature of 450 F. This is the temperature where paper begins to char in the presence of oxygen.
There are numerous insulated fire safety storage safes and boxes that can protect valuable papers and documents. Many have undergone rigorous testing to show the interior of the storage box will remain below 350 F a minimum of one hour even though the exterior temperature is 1,700 F. And this isn’t the most rigid standard.
Computer tapes, diskettes and related media are much more sensitive than paper. These can be damaged if temperatures exceed 125 F and/or a relative humidity of 80 percent. You can purchase storage boxes and safes that will protect them for more than one hour as well.
Protection from burglars is an entirely different issue. Many safes and storage boxes that protect possessions from fire offer little or no protection against a professional burglar. If you want both burglary and fire protection, you will probably need to look for a composite body safe. This is a safe that combines thick high-quality steel and often concrete in both the walls and door of the safe.
These safes need to be very heavy (in excess of 700 pounds) and must not be on wheels because they’re not burglar proof if they can be easily rolled or carried. Otherwise, the burglar will simply transport it from your home and open it at his leisure.
I would not rely on your old safe. The crude locking mechanisms on safes that are 50 years old or older can be easily defeated by a seasoned burglar. If your little safe does contain insulation against fire, it’s quite possible that the insulation has deteriorated.
The location of your safe will be dictated by the type you purchase. A simple fire storage box or safe can usually be placed anywhere in the house. Don’t place it in a basement where flooding is a possibility unless the manufacturer warrants that the safe is waterproof as well.
Standard wood floor systems may not safely carry the weight of a large composite body safe. These may have to be located on a concrete floor. Small burglar-resistive safes need to be well concealed. Some models fit in floor and wall cavities. They can be concealed with a throw rug or behind clothes in a closet.
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Have questions about the remodeling process? Write to Tim Carter, c/o The Chicago Tribune, P.O. Box 36352, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236-0352. Questions will be answered only in the column.
For a list of manufacturers of household fire and burglar resistive safes, 10 guidelines for purchasing fire and burglar resistive safes, and other tips on storing documents, send $2 and your name and address to Tim Carter at the above address. Ask for Builder Bulletin No. 196.
For a list of past Builder Bulletins and a wide variety of individual job bid sheets, send a business-size, stamped, self-addressed envelope to the same address.
Ask the Contractor can also be accessed via the Internet at http://www.chicago.tribune.com/homes/articles/askcon.
