... continued from above.
There is a highly developed industry behind fire safes. Manufacturers are continuously working to incorporate innovative technology into their designs. For a safe to defend against the devastating consequences of fire it needs 3 main components; fireboard insulation, a thick steel body, and no weak links. Things such as balanced layers of fireboard, effective door seals, and multi-sided door bolts add to the overall effectiveness of the safe’s performance.
Testing of Fire Safes
A fire safe undergos rigorous fire testing. The rating label indicates the degree of protection a safe will provide if exposed to fire. Although there are several rating systems the industry's most widely accepted and commonly used test is performed by Underwriters Laboratories. You'll find the majority of fire safes are UL rated, however labeling of a product is completely voluntary; there are no state laws that a safe must bear a label.
Underwriters Laboratory was founded in 1894 as an independent product safety certification organization. Their purpose is to test for public safety and insure products pose no risk to life or health and are not susceptible to fire or other hazards. For a product to obtain a UL label it must meet or exceed the UL testing standards. Products may undergo up to 4 different fire resistance tests: fire endurance, fire and impact, explosion hazard, and combined explosion and impact.
The temperature noted on the UL label is the maximum temperature allowed inside the fire safe for a specified amount of time without harming any content. For example if the temperature inside the safe exceeds 350oF it will fail the UL test for paper rated products. This is because paper begins to crinkle at 405oF and will burn at 451oF. The time noted on the UL label indicates how long the fire resistant product will withstand exposure to different levels of extreme temperature.
Example: A fire safe might have a rating of 1200/100. This means that safe can withstand a fire of 1200o F for 100 minutes without the internal temperature rising over 275o F.