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Just as you would expect of any security product, the amount of fire rating you require from a safe depends on the specifics of both your needs and circumstances.

With needs, we’re talking about what you plan to put inside the fire rated safe, and your circumstances are things like how long will it take for the fire department to get to you. You’ll also need to think about whether you plan to keep any electronic storage media or paper in the safe, the value of the safe’s contents, and where you will be putting it.

Fire rated safes are a fantastically secure storage solution for protecting valuable items from the ravages of a fire, but what level of fire protection you require, will depend upon some, or all of the following factors:

• Whether you’re likely to experience longer response times from emergency services

If you live in a rural area, you’ll benefit from a safe with a higher fire rating, since it might take firefighters longer to get to you. For example, if firefighters might typically take an hour to reach your location, you should add an hour to the rating you need.

• Whether the safe is going to be kept in a big home or multi-unit complex

Fires in big homes or multi-unit complexes will be much harder to control and extinguish than in smaller properties, and if your home is over 1500 square feet, you should purchase a safe with a minimum fire rating of 1-hour.

• If the safe will be stored in a commercial building

Due to the larger size of commercial buildings, blazes that occur inside them can be much harder for firefighters to control, and they have a tendency to burn at a much higher temperature than an average house fire. If you’re buying a safe to put inside a commercial building, go for a safe with at least a 2-hour fire rating.

• If you’re going to be storing gold in it

Gold is a strong investment in many countries of the world, and if you’ve got a nice collection of gold jewelry, you’re going to want to give it the highest level of protection possible by storing it in a specially designed jewelry safe. Because it takes extremely high temperatures to melt gold, it’s better to focus on a burglary rated safe, than one with fire protection.

Talk to your local security expert – this can be a licensed locksmith or safe installer – about what type of safe would best suit your needs based upon the information given above, and think carefully about your options before making a final purchase.