Is fire resistance necessary for a safe?

[CoalTrain49]

I know when our neighboring town of Paradise, CA burned to the ground, out of 48 fire resistant safes that the local safe company sold to residents, none survived. All guns and contents burned or melted due to the heat. My safe is now is counted on to protect against thieves and prying eyes rather than fire protection.

Probably better to just have the contents documented off site and have insurance to cover the lose. I give my insurance company the contents in a spreadsheet so they they can keep me covered. Everytime my wife looks at that she can't believe the total value. I just tell her it's a lifetime of small purchases.

 

[Hikingman]

Turns out that Tractor Supply has fire resistant safes that weigh under 250 lbs and cost less than $500, which is pretty much what I'm looking for.

The Winchester TS12-30 is a good one. Electronic lock with an override key as a backup.

 

[hutch51]

39 years with GSA-approved safes that also had top-secret ratings for breaking open.
30 years ago we had "fireproof" safes. These things were four-drawer units, concrete-lined. They weighed over 1,000 pounds empty. Moving them was "entertaining".
Foward to about 20 or 25 years ago. Fireproof safes are no longer available in the GSA catalog - nobody makes them. They still have the breaking-in requirements but not the fire requirements. These were under 400 pounds.
Be very wary of "fireproof" claims. As mentioned by CoalTrain49 above, let insurance handle the problem.

 

[Atavar]

Fire resistant safes are a myth. They list resistance for 30 minutes. I never saw a house fire that only lasted 30 minutes.

 

[hso]

Tractor Supply has fire resistant safes that weigh under 250 lbs and cost less than $500,

If it isn't UL Listed the "rating" is meaningless.

 

[74man]

My Winchester Safe ( Sam;'s Club) weighs 590 lbs(covered and annotated Pantry with a plywood shell surrounding the safe). I set it up in my garage on a 2" x 2" Steel frame with Casters. In case of fire, I will try to roll it down the driveway into the street. I also have all my ammo stored in file cabinets and mounted onto 2" x 2" frames also. Have all my powder and Primer on rolling frames also. Hope I never have a fire but if I do I think I can salvage some of my stuff!! If I am home>>

 

[TTv2]

If it isn't UL Listed the "rating" is meaningless.

I agree and while I'm sure the Winchester safes could survive a small fire that was quickly contained and put out, I don't have enough faith in them to spend $500 when I can get a similar sized, non fire rated or advertised as fireproof safe from Harbor Freight for $320 on sale.

 

[hso]

And wrap it in more cement board than all but real UL fire safes.

Where we locate a "gun safe" and what is around it plays a big role in how fire impacts it and the contents.

 

[DeepSouth]

If was in the situation of the OP I would be looking into the modular safes. I don’t know much about them, but that’s definitely where I’d start.

 

[snowman357]

Never cared about the fireproof part of it working in a gun shop I got to see many of guns from a burnt fireproof safe none really survived. The theft part is what I get them for and yes a well prepared thief can get in any brand safe pretty easy if they are willing to spend the time. Most home burglars will check to see if it is locked (sadly have also been told many stories of people not locking them) and move on. A side note have the combo written done with clear instructions somewhere safe, have also had many widows inquiring how to open a safe.

 

[doubleh]

I only know of two safes that went through a house fire and they were expensive ones. Lots of guns in them and every one was a loss. It made no difference to the man and wife that owned them as they were consumed by the fire also. Freak accident as they had gone out to eat and when they returned home the house exploded upon their entry. FD determined there was propane leak and turning on a light switch triggered thee explosion. It was ironic as they also owned the the little town's propane dealership.

 

[starnbar]

A safe is normally just protection from theft, fire well that depends on the home construction. If you are determined to keep firearms from becoming crispy then a fire suppression system needs to be installed in that room not just on the safe itself but the whole room this will need professional installation as it involves sprinkler heads and a separate water coupling then fire will be the least of your worries rust will take first place after that

 

[Outlaw75]

There is a seal around the door activated by heat, with additional layers of type X drywall in the walls increasing the fire rating.

IIRC mines a one hour .. meaning two layers of 5/8 type X

That doesn't do anything but make your safe heavier and take up space. Fire-rating in sheetrock just tells you how long you have before the sheetrock will crumble and you start having to worry about walls and ceilings collapsing. It's more for firefighter safety than anything else.

 

[JFrank]

That doesn't do anything but make your safe heavier and take up space. Fire-rating in sheetrock just tells you how long you have before the sheetrock will crumble and you start having to worry about walls and ceilings collapsing. It's more for firefighter safety than anything else.

Say what ?

 

[CapnMac]

Fire-rating in sheetrock just tells you how long you have before the sheetrock will crumble

Putting a fine point on it, the UL wall structure ratings are connected to how long a given wall assembly (studs, fasteners, and all the "bits") will delay "burn-through." The concept is that the amount of time represented by the protection value is how long users of a given space have to discover the fire, and have it dealt with and/or escape to safety.

All drywall products contain some amount of entrained water vapor, which will outgas at a given fire temperature, and will, as a result, not burn-through. The sheeting materials (paper or similar products) will prevent the gypsum inner layer from crumbling until such time as the materials are consumed in a conflagration. The paper can be treated with various products, like borates, to limit flame propagation or spread, or charring and smokiness. (There are endless tedious tables for smoke spread and the like based on which product is used.)

Whether or not a given wall will fail during or after a fire, is a separate structural equation, as UL does not rate load-bearing abilities.

These are the endless picayune details those of us in Architecture must needs know as everyday knowledge.

It's part of how I know I can detail and specify a safer room than the average RSC represents for firearm protection (or human protection, come to cases). Rooms are not nearly so easy to shift around than RSC, though. An armoire can be better than a closet, and vice versa.

 

[crestoncowboy]

have bore witness to over 25 gun safes involved in fires. None of the contents were salvageable as recovered.

My job has me sit through fire brigade training yearly and often with county/city or state fire marshall... this question is asked every year and I don't think I've heard a one say anything different.

Usually they follow up with don't park any motor vehicle in your home/basement/garage and don't screw with your wiring and the chance of fire goes down to near zero.

 

[Outlaw75]

Say what ?

Lining your gun safe with fire-rated or 'Type X' sheetrock will give you no extra fire protection.

 

[JFrank]

Perhaps I’m missing something in your post, I’m not lining with anything, my understanding is the type X is already in the walls of the safe . One layer is 30 minute rating. ( if I recall my residential codes correctly ) and building many homes outside the reach of a Hydrant ( 600 ft iirc) we were required to add sprinklers or 1 hour the entire home and of course at the cost of sprinklers I opted for 1 hour.

 

[Walkalong]

Lining your gun safe with fire-rated or 'Type X' sheetrock will give you no extra fire protection.

As posted, it has water content, which will indeed slow heat up.