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Are you thinking of buying a safe? Now there are so many options available to protect your documents or computer backups. Regardless which application it is for, home or business, there are safes of all sizes that can keep your documents protected from an unexpected fire. But, these safes usually provide a limited amount of protection. Take the example of Fire safes which are so called because they keep the interior of the safe at less than 350 degrees for a stated period of time. This allows the contents to remain secure from the actual flames. Most manufacturers of fire safes will not call them "fireproof" but use the term "fire resistant" instead. In order to resist heat, the special composite material sandwiched between the outer and inner metal walls gives off moisture. This creates steam inside of the safe. The steam does not exceed 350 degrees fahrenheit. The manufacturer has to insure that the "steam" created by the composite fire-retardant material will be released from the safe. So these safes are not air tight. They must release the steam created inside while the fire is blazing outside. he fire labels on all fire safes state the length of time tested and that the safe will maintain a temperature of 350 degrees fahrenheit or less during that time. There are safes available that can withstand flames for 1 hour, 1-1/2 hours and up to 3 hours. When purchasing a fire safe, take into account how far you are from the fire department that would be responding to a fire at your location to determine how much protection you will need. The safe will still protect your paper documents, however, when the fire retardant, composite material runs out of moisture (usually after the 1 hour, 1.5 hours or 2 hours that it is rated for), the safe will no longer resist the fire. One of the best alternatives is the mixed media file cabinet which is the preferred choice for both paper and computer record safety. These cabinets come in 2,3, or 4 drawer models, and look like regular file cabinets. You can choose to have computer media protection drawers for DVDs and CDs or fire rated drawers for paper records, or both. The paper record storage drawers are rated by UL to be Class 350, indicating that temperatures are below 350°F when exterior temperatures are reaching 1700°F. During the same 1700°F test, media drawers were UL classified to maintain an internal temperature below 125°F without exceeding the 80 percent humidity level. This tight standard is required to protect computer media like DVDs, hard drives and CDs. This file cabinet will protect against magnetic interference as well. A cheaper option is the fire and impact file cabinets that are for paper records only. They can have 2 or 4 drawers and cost about 1/2 the price of the models mentioned above, and still provide the 350 degree protection needed for paper files. So called Burglar and fire safes are another much smaller alternative and provide both fire and burglary protection. They are usually 20" to 30" square, with the interior being even smaller. They come with UL 350 safety for 1 to 1.5 hours. There are generally 2" of concrete between the steel inner & outer walls which provides the needed burglary and flame protection. Regardless of which one you choose, all of these can be found at safes, fire safes www.safeandvaultstore.com
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