What is fire resistance?

A fire resistant safe is constructed in order to protect its contents against fire for a specified period of time. Not all information can be stored in the same way, there is a big difference between paper and data media. Fire resistance is always expressed in time (30-60-120 minutes). These times indicate how long a safe can stay in the fire before it reaches a critical temperature. Another important factor is whether the safe can be used for paper or data media.

 

Paper will show spontaneous chemical reactions like colouring and curling from a temperature of 176°C. Fire resistant cupboards and document safes have been designed to prevent this.

 

Image media, such as (micro)film are already damaged around 95°C, thus the maximum temperature in the safe should not exceed 75°C. It is advisable to store image media in a fire resistant data safe.

 

A fire resistant data safe protects digital media such as CD/DVDs and data tapes against temperature higher than 52°C. Exposure to temperatures higher than 52°C can damage data media and data can be lost. A humidity exceeding 85% can also be fatal for data media.

 

In Europe various fire resistant norms are used. Independent testing institutes expose safes for a period of 30, 60 or 120 minutes to a temperature of 1090°C. During the test the safe is dropped 9.15 meters to prove that the fire resistance is intact should the safe fall through a storey during a real fire.

The most important and common test institutes for

fire resistance are:

Safes tested at testing institutes accredited by the ECB-S offer extra security. These safes are certified by the ECB-S which guarantees extra high quality and levels of reliability!

 

 

DIN 4102 The lightest level of fire resistance. The double walled safe is filled with fire resistant insulation material according to DIN 4102. Approximately 30 minutes fire resistance  for paper
UL 30/60/120 Tested and certified in the United States for the fire  resistant storage of paper (30, 60 or 120 minutes).
EN 15659 LFS 30P / LFS 60P / LFS 120P Tested and certified for the fire resistant storage of paper (30, 60 or  120 minutes).
EN 1047-1 S 60P / S 120P Extra heavily tested and certified for the fire resistant storage of paper   (60 or 120 minutes).

 

 

EN 1047-1 S 60DIS / S 120DIS Extra heavily tested and certified for the fire resistant storage of digital media (60 or 120 minutes).
ETL ETL-verified and certified for the fire resistant storage of digital media carriers  such as CDs, DVDs, USB drives and memory sticks.