While bushfires have always been a close-to-home hazard for Australians living near bushlands and national parks, fires have become more prevalent in the suburbs in recent years. Several residential grass and bushfires have threatened many communities, forcing the evacuation of thousands and causing severe property damage.
Although the Australian state and federal governments are taking steps to improve residential fire safety, there are further steps individuals and households can take to preserve their most valuable documents and essential possessions. With a few simple investments, you won’t have to worry about your indispensable items if you get caught in a situation where fire threatens or destroys your home.
A great first step would be purchasing a high-quality fireproof home safe to keep all your necessary documents and valuables in so that even if your home is destroyed by fire, you will have these possessions undamaged as you begin to rebuild your home and life.
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What is a Fireproof Home Safe?
Many individuals mistakenly believe that ordinary safe deposit boxes are the same as fireproof safes. While they may have some similarities, they do not provide the same level of fire protection. Money, pictures, and sensitive papers are all susceptible to harm when exposed to high temperatures. Therefore, if you want to protect combustible materials, you should invest in the finest fireproof safe for cash and paper.
Paper-based materials may burn and catch fire faster than most other materials. As a result, an increasing number of Australians are realising the need for home and workplace fireproof safes.
The primary function of a fireproof home safe is to protect its contents from high temperatures and actual fires. Fireproof home safes should be your first concern if you wish to secure valuables or significant assets from the destructive effects of fire.
However, it’s important to note that not all fireproof home safes are made robust, as each safe is rated depending on the amount of time and temperatures it can tolerate. Several test institutions, test standards, technical specifications, and security ratings grade fireproof home safes. Fireproof home safes themselves are also available in various forms, shapes, and sizes to meet the needs of consumers.
What Material is a Fireproof Home Safe Made of?
Every safe deposit box is built differently, using a variety of materials depending on the sort of protection they provide and are typically classified into four categories of security:
- Fundamental safety for protection against kids or unwanted viewers.
- The protection level for moderate protection against thieves.
- High security for heavy-duty locks against tool attacks.
- Maximum protection.
To hold the fire-resistant material, fireproof home safes must include at least two metal walls. Typically, stainless steel is used because of its resilience to high temperatures and strength. However, thermal insulation materials resistant to fire may also be used in construction, such as mineral wool, calcium or sodium silicate, fire-protected concrete, and perlite.
4 Things to Keep in Your Fireproof Safe During a Bushfire in Australia
While the following items are ideal for fireproof home safe storage, remember that any item can be damaged if exposed to temperatures exceeding the particular threshold of the fireproof safe. Keeping vital documents within a fireproof safe allows you to access them immediately when a disaster strikes. Still, it’s a good idea to keep electronic copies of this information just in case!
- Financial papers or bank account information. In the case of a house fire, you may require quick access to money. Additional documentation may be included with your financial records, such as those connected to your retirement plans and investments.
- Passports and other forms of identification (such as birth certificates and social security cards) can be challenging to replace if lost or destroyed. It’s typically ideal for keeping passports at home in your fireproof safe, so they’re available to use at a moment’s notice; however, it might be advantageous to preserve actual birth certificates somewhere else and just maintain a duplicate of this document in your fireproof safe.
- Digital Media, e.g., USB, DVDs, CDs, Camera, Hard Disks. In today’s increasingly digital world, saving your family memories in data form may be as simple as putting them on a hard drive. If you want to preserve those priceless memories from going up in flames, store hard discs and other data in a fireproof home safe. The same law applies to corporations that must keep corporate data. Remember that making additional copies increases your chances of accessing the information you need.
- Safe deposit box keys. If you have another home safe or a bank safe deposit box, put the keys in your fireproof safe so you can access them in an emergency.
What NOT to Keep in your Fireproof Home Safe
Consider your fireproof safe to be a protection precaution for items that are tough to replace and require easy access. Items that you don’t need to have on hand all the time are best kept with the bank, such as your original birth certificate, negatives of family pictures, car ownerships, and even the deed to your home for insurance purposes.
You may always keep duplicates of these documents in your fireproof home safe while the original is safe and sound in your local bank’s safe deposit box.
Keep in mind that while fireproof home safes are useful, they are not fully damage-proof and cannot always prevent burglaries. If you’re worried about theft, it could be worth looking into a maximum protection burglary safe deposit box.
Where is the Best Location to Install a Fireproof Home Safe?
The strategic location of your home safe deposit box is one of the first things to consider when deciding on its installation. Remember that there is no perfect recommendation for safe installation because every home is unique!
Although, as a general rule of thumb, installing a safe deposit box in a low-visibility area is quite beneficial for securing from theft. Furthermore, if floods are a problem, a higher elevation safe deposit box will benefit you. However, it is more difficult in the case of fire because you cannot foresee where a fire would start! As a result, it is recommended to install your fireproof home safe near a sprinkler.
Source Your Fireproof Home Safe from a Reputable Safe Supplier
There are several reasons why investing in a fireproof home safe is a good idea, as in the event of an unforeseen emergency, fireproof safes might be the most important investment you could make.
According to surveys done by central authorities, persons who have been involved in fire-related tragedies consider fireproof safes to be highly significant.
With the incorporation of new tech in our homes and businesses, the importance of fireproof home safes has more than tripled. If you are seeking to buy a fireproof safe for your home or office, a reputable safe supplier will have a comprehensive and reasonably priced assortment of fireproof home safes online.
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