Document Safes Suitable for Disaster Preparedness
Writing a will or guarding our homes and offices against burglary are indeed great steps towards preparing for emergencies. But that’s like a drop in the ocean if we don’t have means of securing our important documents against disasters such as fire or floods.
That’s why fire boxes for documents come in handy for anyone who’s concerned about safe keeping of their family’s or office documents should anything disastrous happen.
With various choices of document safes out there, it will take you a while to sift through reviews and consumers’ opinion before settling on a selection with safe document storage.
After moving in to our new home a few months ago, I realized that we needed a document safe box for storing important family records. I knew it would take me quite a bit of time to get what I wanted and I resolved to set apart a few days to do extensive research on various types of document safes available on the market.
I believe my findings, as shared herein, will help you save a bit of your precious time. Let’s look at some of the underlying factors to consider when buying a fireproof container for documents.
Best Fireproof Box for Legal Size Documents
It is all well and good having a fireproof safe that is designed for storing paperwork but not all of these lock boxes have a big enough interior for legal documents.
Here are the standard paper sizes used in the US:
- Half Letter: 5.5 x 8.5 in – (140 x 216 mm)
- Letter: 8.5 x 11.0 in – (216 x 279 mm)
- Legal: 8.5 x 14.0 in – (216 x 356 mm)
- Junior Legal: 5.0 x 8.0 in – (127 x 203 mm)
- Ledger / Tabloid: 11.0 x 17.0 in – (279 x 432 mm)
The one size that gets people stuck the most is the 8.5 x 14.0in legal size. It is a little longer than a standard size…not including a few extra mm if you happen to put those in a folder too.
So the perfect size for legal documents would be long and wide. So, out of all the available document fire boxes, which would be the best?
Right now, Honeywell have come up with an amazing line of document safes that are designed for storing any kind of legal documents. The actual brand name for these are: Honeywell Safes & Door Locks.
There are five different models, all of which have the same main features with a few minor changes such as additional fireproofing, size and mobility.
The first couple of safes are the smallest in the range however they are a part of the same collection so I decided to leave them in this list.
The Honeywell Safes & Door Locks – 30 Minute Fire Safe Waterproof Safe Box Chest has two different sizes – medium and large. Both are waterproof and fire-resistant and are designed for storing anything from letter and legal documents to USB flash drives, phones, jewelry and more.
All of these molded chests are designed to protect most kinds of digital media and sensitive documents from fire and water damage. All safes are available as a cabinet or with a strong handle to make it portable.
The locking system is nothing complicated. Simply lock and unlock the chest with a key…no pass code needed, no fingerprint scanning required.
The MEDIUM size line of Honeywell fire safe boxes have a 30-minute UL fire protection rating for up to 1550°f. They also have a 100 hour verified waterproof seal, keeping your contents dry when submerged 39 inches underwater.
There are three medium capacities: 4.0 litre, 4.3 litre and 7.3 litre. All have the same features.
The LARGE Honeywell fire safe box has a 1-Hour UL Fire protection rating for up to 1700°F. It also has a 100 hour verified waterproof seal, keeping your contents dry when submerged 39 inches underwater.
The LARGE Honeywell fire safe box has a 1-Hour UL Fire protection rating for up to 1700°F. It also has a 100 hour verified waterproof seal, keeping your contents dry when submerged 39 inches underwater.
All of these Honeywell important file safes have a 7-year limited warranty with a lifetime after-fire replacement guarantee.
The above Honeywell file boxes are not the only legal size fireproof box options, however they are the ones that seem to have the better reviews at this time. Maybe in the future that will change as newer brands and models are launched.
Document Safe Deals!
SentrySafe 1170 Fireproof Box with Key Lock 0.61 Cubic Feet
- FIREPROOF: Box is UL Classified to endure 1/2 hour at 1550°F to protect irreplaceable documents and valuables from fire and is ETL verified to protect CDs, DVDs, and USBs
- KEYLOCK: Fireproof safe features a flat key lock to prevent the lid from opening in the event of a fire; Includes 2 keys
SentrySafe HD4100 Fireproof Safe and Waterproof Safe with Key Lock 0.65 Cubic Feet
- FIREPROOF: Safe is UL Classified to endure 1/2 hour at 1550°F and keep interior temperatures safe for irreplaceable documents, valuables, DVDs, and USBs
- WATERPROOF: Safe box is ETL Verified for 72 hours of protection in water up to 8 inches deep offering peace of mind in the event of a flood
SentrySafe CHW20221 Fireproof Box and Waterproof Box with Key Lock 0.28 Cubic Feet
- FIREPROOF: Box is UL Classified to endure 1/2 hour at 1550°F to protect irreplaceable documents, small valuables, DVDs, and USBs from fire
- WATERPROOF: The small safe box is ETL Verified for 72 hours of water submersion offering peace of mind in the event of a flood
Free shipping
Honeywell Safes & Door Locks - 6104 Fire Resistant Steel Security Safe Box with Key Lock, 0.17-Cubic Feet, Black
- CASH MANAGEMENT - security box is small and lightweight, but big enough to store small documents, personal items, passports or a cell phone
- FEATURES - a double steel wall construction with a fire resistant insulation
SentrySafe FHW40100 Fireproof Waterproof Box with Key Lock, 0.66 cu. ft
- FIREPROOF: The safe is UL Classified to endure 1/2 hour at 1550°F to protect irreplaceable documents, small valuables, DVDs, and USBs from fire
- WATERPROOF: The safe is ETL Verified for 72 hours of water submersion offering peace of mind in the event of a flood
Fireproof Hanging File Box
What if your main concern was to have a hanging file within the document safe? Not all safes like these have the capacity to allow for hanging files. I think the most obvious thing to look for is the depth or length of the safe. Is it deep enough for files to hang without any folding?
Some fireproof locking file boxes actually have the hanging files option in the safe already. They have a special slider which allows you to hook on your hanging files.
As with the majority of these units, do not expect high security. The main priority for these lock boxes is to keep your important documents safe from fires and flooding. They wont do a very good job of keeping thieves from breaking on or walking away with the whole safe.
Here are some examples of hanging safes:
Fireproof Document Safe Box for Important Papers
While you’d want a spacious box to fit in all your important documents, the question you ought to answer is whether it’s a fireproof document safe and if it’s water resistant. Some boxes lay more emphasis on protection against burglary than fire or water.
Since you don’t just want a box you can lock your documents in, you’d better establish its fire or water protection factor. A standard fireproof safe should offer 30 minutes duration of fire protection.
Those offering advance fire protection of one hour and around 1700 °F would be the most ideal, especially if you plan to store CDs, DVDs, memory sticks and USB drives. These types of lock boxes that store paperwork are ideal security safes for student dorm rooms.
Lock mechanism
Locking system would have to be another important factor you’d want to consider before buying your fire safe document box. The most common choices are keypads, keys or combinations. There’s only one reason I wouldn’t have preference to fireboxes for documents that have keys. It’s easy for the keys to get lost or melted during floods or huge fires. A fireproof safe with a combination lock would be a great selection.
Size and storage capacity
If you own a lot of precious stuff that need to be locked away such as jewelry or you have a lot of records to store, then you may need a sizable box. Indeed there are varieties of them with plenty of space, adjustable shelves and document sleeves to help you organize your stuff properly.
But if you only want to keep important documents safe, then you don’t have to go for a giant size box. The general storage capacity ranges between 0.1and 1.5 cubic feet.
Document Safes Portability
Portability is another factor you may need to look into. If you are going to be moving your safe a lot, then you should settle for relatively small and lighter box. For size and portability, SentrySafe H2300 and SentrySafe 1170 are some of the most ideal options.
They also have top loading configuration, which is convenient for storage. However, their downside is that they are not the best choices when it comes to burglary.
You might be wondering what choice I eventually settled for. Although I ended up buying SentrySafe SFW123DSB, I wouldn’t claim that it’s the best of all fireboxes for documents out there. I however liked its fire and water resistance features, lock combination and storage space.
As a matter of fact, none of the safes on the market is absolutely a bad choice. They just serve different needs. If your desire is how to keep documents safe from disasters such as fire, water, burglary or whatever specs you want in a safe, you’ll definitely find one that serves your purpose.
