So you have bought sufficient fire insurance to cover your business in the event of fire, or you believe you have. Many individuals who own businesses and homes tend to live in the false notion that they have fully protected their business and home with fire insurance. This is far from the truth. What is deemed as the intrinsic value of your business are the most critical items for its survival. How much would you value important customer mailing lists, purchases and billing records as well as warranties? Priceless! And when you are faced with the harsh reality of losing them for good in a bad fire, you would probably seriously consider getting fireproof file cabinets.
Fire proof file cabinets are designed to insulate your documents and withstanding heat from a fire. Depending on the fire resistant rating specifications you can literally keep your paper documents, media and digital records safe for varying periods of time within these safes.
The most common and reliable reference is the Underwriters Laboratories approved fire resistant rating. This is an industry standards rating system and many reputed manufacturers abide them and specify their fire proof file cabinets and burglary safes accordingly. Take for instance a UL fireproof rating of 350 degree Fahrenheit means that the interior of the safe will not exceed 350 degrees F within one hour of the fire. This is the most common standards set for fire proof safes and cabinets.
For those of you who run a business at your home office, you might consider getting an additional fireproof media safe if your business entails handling a large number of media and digital records as part of the daily activities. This is due to the fact that such files and records including tapes, CDs, DVDs, flash drives, USB drives, do not take to heat as well as paper items and they damage much more easily. Hence, instead of 350 degree F, you will need a safe not exceeding interior resistant temperature of 125 degree F in the event of a fire.
Alternatives to having separate systems is to purchase a safe-in-a-file-cabinet system which houses all your important documents together at one place, making it easier to retrieve all your items at one shot in times of fire. While there is convenience, there are also risks of losing everything in the fire.
Having separate security systems for your documents as well as media records could help to spread your risks in times of disaster when you least expect it to happen. You also have a option from a wide variety of designs and colours to choose from. Often, owners would prefer that the fireproof file cabinets and safes blend into the background of the office or home interior, to attract as little attention as possible. You can specify customization for the higher end products.