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While fire was worshipped by much of mankind in centuries of old, it was also feared, and with good reason. Sadly, fire destroyed many of the written records of early human civilization, which simply weren’t able to be protected against the ravages of fire. As the centuries passed, more and more importance was placed upon protecting important documents and other possessions, and humankind began inventing ways to prevent fire from destroying such items. The Egyptians, for example, chose to bury their scrolls deep within the confines of the pyramids, while the Assyrians made copies of important documents, and buried them at different locations. The Greeks, on the other hand, inscribed important information onto ivory slabs, desperately trying to fireproof them.

Julius Caesar and his iron strong boxes

However, as many of these methods proved inconvenient or ineffective, mankind continued to try and find ways to protect documents recording important information, and Julius Caesar was said to have kept his records in protective devices such as iron boxes. Even these couldn’t withstand the might of flames though, and such strong boxes were found to readily conduct heat and exacerbated the problem.

Later still, feudal lords built underground vaults to store items in, and placed guards at the entrances for additional protection. In the 15^th century, the treasure chest found its place in history, with the iconic image of a pirate chest made from oak and banded with iron.

Safes as we might recognize them today

Gradually, as the centuries passed, iron constructions with inner walls made of stone, plaster, wood, cement, brick, asbestos, mica, alum, chalk, clay or dead-air space were createdto house important artefacts and documents. Before this date, most safes were simply insulated with water and cement; as the water evaporated, there was nothing left to create the blanket of steam that protects documents from heat.

It wasn’t until 1917, however, that a test was standardized to measure the effectiveness of safes against fire, and it was this test that prompted some big, radical changes to be made to the way safes were being constructed.

Modern safe construction

Nowadays, and since the scientific tests for safes were carried out, the way that safes are made has changed almost beyond recognition, and protection against fire for up to 2 hours, and theft with the use of tools for as long as 30 minutes, has made keeping valuable possessions safe, a much more reliable task. Without the heat being rapidly transmitted to the interior of the safe by the metal hinges, spindles and handles, and the openings between the door and frame allowing direct access for the heat of a fire – such as was the case with safes of old – safes now resist fire far more effectively, and for longer.

Modern safes have doors that are tongue and groove in design, to impede the heat’s path, while insulation casings are made of light materials, with methods of assembly engineered to allow for minimum heat penetration to the inside of the safe and its contents.

While protecting valuable items has always been important to mankind, never have the methods been as effective as they are today, and with technology improving at an increasingly fast pace, who knows what the future holds for high security safes?