A house fire is a terrible experience, made even worse if you lose your most valuable possessions. Fireproof safes are popular for this reason - but what actually makes a safe fireproof? What is the best fireproof safe for home use? This piece explains how safes are designed to take the heat, as well as giving tips on what to look for when looking to purchase the best fireproof safe.

When it comes to the question of what is the best fireproof safe for home use, there's no right answer. You'll have to consider what you want the safe to do, and what you will be keeping in it. A safe that needs to keep flammable documents secure may be different than a fireproof jewelry safe or a fireproof gun safe, for example. However, there are a few things that you should look out for when making a purchase of the best fireproof home safe.

The best fireproof home safes begin with their outer layer. The outer layer of a good fireproof safe should be incombustible - resistant to burning and corrosion - while also being tough enough to withstand anyone trying to access your safes for the contents inside. After all, fireproof jewelry safes and fireproof gun safes will contain very valuable items indeed.

Generally, fireproof safes will use galvanized steel for an outer layer. This is steel that has been specially treated to resist corrosion. This means that the outer layer of your safe is safe against fire damage. However, steel does have a drawback - while resistant to damage from fire, it does transmit heat well. This is why you need heat-resistant materials.

In order to prevent your items inside your fireproof home safe from being cooked, you need a thick layer of some sort of heat-resistant insulating material. These materials will isolate the items inside your safe from the intense heat outside. Generally, some sort of mineral is used, as these substances will transfer heat much slower than steel - cement is a very popular material, as it is incredibly robust as well.

Nothing is truly immune to the continued attention of a raging inferno. Home safes have their fireproof credentials judged by a fireproof rating - generally, this will tell you how long the safe can survive certain temperatures. For example, our Firecube fireproof safe has 1-hour protection for 1200 degrees Celsius.

Most house fires burn for about half an hour at 600 degrees Celcius - so you can see that the Firecube has double the strength needed to withstand housefires. This may seem like overkill - until you remember that valuable documents ignite at roughly 200 degrees Celcius and that this temperature can also permanently damage electronics. By getting a hefty fire rating, you can better protect items inside the safe.

It's also important that the safe be solidly built, with tightly locking bolts. You don't want any smoke seeping into the safe, which could cause lasting damage to the valuables within. You also want to make sure that your fireproof jewelry safe or fireproof gun safe has tamper-proof steel bolts for adequate burglary protection.

As you can see, the Firecube is more than capable of handling the worst that a housefire can throw at it - if you're looking for the best fireproof home safe, look no further. This solid 55-pound safe even comes with a fireproof tray for the interior, to better manage your valuables. It also comes with a lifetime guarantee - and you can pay for it in monthly installments with Affirm. So don't wait - get your valuables fire-proofed today.