Safes and the Fort McMurray Fire

[Newview01]

I'm in the market for a safe. Can anyone tell me how theirs / their acquaintance's safes performed if their house caught fire?

[nube]

I would bet most people who had safes had the cheaper kind that are only rated for a few hrs at most.
Here is some info I googled real quick too
http://gunsafereviewsguy.com/article...-fire-ratings/

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by nube

I would bet most people who had safes had the cheaper kind that are only rated for a few hrs at most.
Here is some info I googled real quick too
http://gunsafereviewsguy.com/article...-fire-ratings/

Most people purchase the cheap Stack-on safes from Canadian Tire, that are rated for 30 minutes, or not fire rated at all. If the fire department arrives quickly, they may provide some fire protection, but in the case of a wildfire, that burns the home to the ground, they are pretty much useless.

[Newview01]

Originally Posted by nube

I would bet most people who had safes had the cheaper kind that are only rated for a few hrs at most.
Here is some info I googled real quick too
http://gunsafereviewsguy.com/article...-fire-ratings/

Pretty enlightening. With my budget it is unlikely that I will be buying a safe that can withstand a lot of heat.

[jayquiver]

Any photos of safes I've seen from the fire didn't fair well. All burnt, guns inside destroyed. Having said that The Beast was not your average fire. I don't think there is a gun safe out there that could of beat The Beast and if there was it would be so heavy and expensive it wouldn't be worth it, imo.

Fire ratings are based on temp and time. The Beast was extreme temps and some houses were just left to burn while the firefighters worked on other homes to created fire breaks.

In the research I've done, you need to spend $3000+ to get anything really good. That is why I have a Stack-On Green "tin can" and insurance. Would I like a nice gun safe, YES!

Other things to consider, weight. Good safes weight a lot, expensive to move. Especially if you plan on moving a number of times.

[Sneeze]

I think I have posted on this before here.

It is very easy to make a vault fire resistant. It is very difficult making a vault water resistant.

They use a ridiculous amount of water to extinguish fires. So what if your vault can withstand 1200 degrees F for 3 hours if after they fire it has to sit in 3' of water for 8 hours while the fire investigator looks around.

Buy a safe that stops crooks and use some of the difference to ensure your insurance on your home/tenants insurance policy is ridiculously good.

[riden]

Originally Posted by Newview01

Pretty enlightening. With my budget it is unlikely that I will be buying a safe that can withstand a lot of heat.

Put it in the basement of the home then, as it is a lot less likely to burn "dramatically" in the basement........but will see more water in a fire.

[nube]

Originally Posted by riden

Put it in the basement of the home then, as it is a lot less likely to burn "dramatically" in the basement........but will see more water in a fire.

lol Have you ever been inside a burning building? The basement is a firefighters worse nightmare and a total deathtrap. The heat in a fire in a basement is pretty tough to beat.

[Newview01]

Originally Posted by Sneeze

I think I have posted on this before here.

It is very easy to make a vault fire resistant. It is very difficult making a vault water resistant.

They use a ridiculous amount of water to extinguish fires. So what if your vault can withstand 1200 degrees F for 3 hours if after they fire it has to sit in 3' of water for 8 hours while the fire investigator looks around.

Buy a safe that stops crooks and use some of the difference to ensure your insurance on your home/tenants insurance policy is ridiculously good.

There may be a vault built into my next house. No room for one now. That said, even if I had a vault I still want a safe near my bed. Can anyone here tell me the cost of insuring firearms? My agent told me not to add them to the policy because the cost of insurance will rise dramatically.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by Newview01

There may be a vault built into my next house. No room for one now. That said, even if I had a vault I still want a safe near my bed. Can anyone here tell me the cost of insuring firearms? My agent told me not to add them to the policy because the cost of insurance will rise dramatically.

My insurance quote was about 2% of the value of the firearms, which more than doubles my home insurance.

[riden]

Originally Posted by nube

lol Have you ever been inside a burning building? The basement is a firefighters worse nightmare and a total deathtrap. The heat in a fire in a basement is pretty tough to beat.

I'm not talking about going in during the fire though am I?

When my house burnt to the ground, there was nothing left of the main floor, but quite a bit was left in the basement...including my gun cabinet. So yes, I am talking from experience.

[riden]

Originally Posted by Newview01

There may be a vault built into my next house. No room for one now. That said, even if I had a vault I still want a safe near my bed. Can anyone here tell me the cost of insuring firearms? My agent told me not to add them to the policy because the cost of insurance will rise dramatically.

You don't need to add them unless you have a huge collection. Your policy would have a max payout for certain items. I maxed out on auto parts for example.

I lost about 15 guns and no questions were asked on the insurance claim. It was part of my regular insurance.

[Newview01]

Originally Posted by riden

You don't need to add them unless you have a huge collection. Your policy would have a max payout for certain items. I maxed out on auto parts for example.

I lost about 15 guns and no questions were asked on the insurance claim. It was part of my regular insurance.

Who is your insurance provider? I have Wawanesa, and the basic policy doesn't cover a lot of contents.

[Newview01]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

My insurance quote was about 2% of the value of the firearms, which more than doubles my home insurance.

[riden]

Originally Posted by Newview01

Who is your insurance provider? I have Wawanesa, and the basic policy doesn't cover a lot of contents.

TD

It's all in how much coverage you choose. I believe in insurance and was well insured and prepared. The fire chief told me the average coverage for contents in this area was under $100k, I think he said $70k. That is really low since everything you replace it with is brand new and adds up really fast.

Depends how old you are too. I am 50, and have acquired a lot of things over my lifetime.

[Sneeze]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

My insurance quote was about 2% of the value of the firearms, which more than doubles my home insurance.

They are all different. Mine for example covers them under contents - which is a percentage of the total insured value of the building.

In my situation (yours may be different) - when the collection becomes large enough that the replacement contents coverage on the home would not both insure my belongings as well as my firearms - I would add specific riders? (I think that's the term) to my policy for high dollar or collector items. Usually that requires an appraisal.

So, if you have a few Perazzi's, S010's and K-80's kicking around your basement might be worth calling the broker. If the OP is worried about his Hatsan burning, he should invest in a new smoke detector battery.

[nube]

Originally Posted by riden

I'm not talking about going in during the fire though am I?

When my house burnt to the ground, there was nothing left of the main floor, but quite a bit was left in the basement...including my gun cabinet. So yes, I am talking from experience.

Sorry to hear you lost your house. Not a cool experience at all. Water damage will be huge in a basement. Basically it will just hold all the water that is sprayed in it and will fill up the basement.
The only way to have a safe do you any good is if the Fire Dept can show up in a decent amount of time and actually be able to go inside to put your fire out. Most volunteer depts. or if you live out of town a ways won't have this luxury. It takes a house 10-15 min to really start rocking till you can't go inside to fight a fire.

[Newview01]

Interesting info, thanks guys.

Buying a safe is an insurance policy in itself, again, the coverage will depend on what you pay.

I am no further ahead in my decision as to what I should buy . It will probably come down to what interior features I want.

Thanks again.

[elkhunter11]

Another thing to consider is water damage due to sewer back ups, broken water lines ruptured hot water tanks etc. If your safe or lock up is on the basement floor, the risk of water damage is much greater than if you elevate your safe/lockup off of the floor even by a foot. My gun room is in the final stages of construction, and my firearms will be stored on racks that are elevated above floor level.