Not Your Average Office Supply Store Safe!
There are lots of bargain safes available at hardware
or office supply stores, but they are not built the
same way. They may look good on the store shelf, but
how will they look in the basement debris of a burned
building, after being exposed to 1200-1800 degree heat
for two hours? More importantly, what will the contents
look like? (Or will the contents already be in the hands
of a thief?) If the items in your safe are important
to you, give them the safety and security they deserve.
Give us a call or come in and see for yourself the benefits
of a well-built safe! Different Construction for Different Situations
Safes can be built primarily for protection from fire,
burglars, or both. A “fire” safe is designed to insulate
the contents from the heat of a fire. Cheap ones will
have sheetrock (stops flames, but not heat); better
ones will have a composite mix of concrete and other
materials, plus a metallic door gasket material that
expands and seals when exposed to heat. These will be
UL rated as shown at left. Safes designed for photos
or computer “media” will have additional
heat protection.
A “burglar” safe is stronger.
Whereas a fire safe might only have thin sheet metal
that sandwiches its insulation, any teenager with
a drill and a hammer could easily open it. A burglar
safe
will have high strength steel that could vary from ¼”
to several inches thick. And although no safe is
totally impermeable, the extra armor and technology
take time
to penetrate -- time that a burglar can’t
afford to spend on site. To prevent the thief from
simply carrying
away the safe, it must either weigh 750 pounds
or be strongly secured to the building. Ratings
are given
if the safe can withstand a skilled burglar with
powered shop tools for either 15 minutes or 30
minutes or even longer.
A Wide Variety of Safes
Not all safes are created equal. Some are designed
for maximum security and are rarely opened.
Others need
frequent access. For instance, insulated file cabinets
give full-time fire protection but only
need to be locked
at night. Here’s a brief overview of different
types.
 Petty cash. This locked
box typically resides in the office manager’s
desk drawer and contains a few hundred dollars. With
no insulation and light enough to just be carried away,
its main function is to provide control and ease of
use to a responsible manager.
 Retail cash drops.
These are ideal for retail outlets or late-night offices
that need to keep very little cash accessible. Drop
bills in and they stay secure until the morning supervisor
unlocks them.
 Keys. If you have
a lot of keys to buildings, cabinets or vehicles, you’ll
want to control and protect them in a locked cabinet
in a secure area, usually at a guard’s or receptionist’s
desk.
  File
cabinets. Ideal
for legal or important documents. Portables to
full-sized floor models. These fireproof insulated
drawers give
immediate access to files. They have traditional
file cabinet locks and give moderate theft
protection and
a high level of fire protection.
Harmful
objects. Whether
for guns in a home safe, or drugs or industrial
chemicals in a business lab, we offer safes
that are secure
and
easy to use.
 Computer
data. Check
with your IT department. How often do they back
up your data and where is it stored? The safest
place for major
back-ups may be off-site. But even the daily data
should be preserved in a safe that is secure
from fire and
theft.
 Major cash, securities and
valuables. Similar to the large photo above,
these provide maximum protection against fire and theft.
 Also
available… safes that are
hidden in walls, floors, and built into other objects.
You tell us the threat, and we’ll show you
how to guard against it.
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