SAFES
The Trade off – Security vs
Fire Rating vs Cost vs Capacity
As we’ve mentioned throughout this
guide – fire safety usually comes at a cost
in terms of the security rating.
The reality is that when choosing any
safe, there is always some kind of trade-off
between:
• Level of security
• Fire rating
• Capacity
• Cost
A safe with a two-hour fire rating will
invariably have to sacrifice a level of
security. If you want a safe that combines
security with fire resistance, it will come
with additional cost – and you will have to
sacrifice some capacity.
In the end, it’s about finding the
right balance to suit your individual
requirements.
Fire Resistant Safes
– Certification and
Testing Explained
Not all fire safes are created (or tested)
equally.
You might be surprised to learn that
there is no single agreed global standard
for fire ratings when it comes to safes.
There are multiple different testing
systems, accreditations and standards in
play, which all use different parameters
for their fire resistance. These include:
Manufacturer tested
Some manufacturers use their own
in-house certification system. This means
the manufacturer has tested the safe itself.
Usually, these safes are tested to a certain
temperature, for a set time, defined by the
manufacturer.
Safe & Vault Company Limited only
acknowledges and recommends fire
safes tested to industry approved fire
test standards EN 15659, NT Fire and EN
1047.
EN15659 (LFS)
Also known as the Light Fire Storage
standard, this test provides certification
of a basic level of fire protection. There
are two EN15659 designations, 30P
(30 minutes) and 60P (1 hour) for the
protection of paper documents, keeping
internal safe temperatures below 170°C.
EN 1047 (VDMA 24911)
This is a European standard, and comes
with several different ratings. As part of
the testing procedure, safes are heated in
a furnace to around 1000°C for up to two
hours. As part of the testing, some safes
will also be dropped from a height of more
than 9m to simulate a building collapse.
The ratings include:
• S 60P (1 hour) / S120P (2 hours) paper
protection – internal temperature
stays below 170°C
• S 60D (1 hour) / S 120D (2 hours) data
protection – internal temperature
stays below 70°C and humidity below
85%
• S 60DIS (1 hour) / S120DIS (2 hours)
sensitive data material protection –
internal temperature stays below 50°C
and humidity below 85%
‘for serious commercial
applications, looking
for an NT Fire 017 and
SP Testing badge is
the one to go for’
NT Fire 017
The NordTest NT Fire 017 is a rigorous
fire test that’s commonly conducted by SP
Testing Lab in Sweden – and it’s become
the industry standard.
The certifications include:
• Paper – keeps internal temperatures
under 177°C (last number represents
minutes of protection)
• NT Fire 017-60 Paper
• NT Fire 017-90 Paper
• NT Fire 017-120 Paper
• Data – prevents internal temperature
increasing by more than 50°C (last
number represents minutes of
protection)
• NT Fire 017-60 Data
• NT Fire 017-90 Data
• NT Fire 017-120 Data
• Diskette – prevents internal
temperature increasing by more than
30°C (last number represents minutes
of protection)
• NT Fire 017-60 Diskette
• NT Fire 017-90 Diskette
• NT Fire 017-120 Diskette
Safe & Vault has dozens of fire safes
and cabinets available, in a full range of
shapes, sizes and fire ratings, including
those rated to the latest NT Fire 017
standards, which we believe be the best.
Explore the full range of fire safes or get
in touch with the team on 0113 274 4627
or [email protected]
JUL/AUG 2019
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