What exactly are fireproof filing cabinets? What are they used for?

What the heck is a fireproof filing cabinet? If that's the questions you just asked yourself, then you're not alone. Can they really be fireproof?



Sure nothing really is fireproof per say, but you can make something extremely resistant to fire and if you think about the 2300 degrees F it takes to melt steel, well that is some food for thought.



Think about what would happen right now if you had a fire in your business or home. All your vital records will get destroyed. Here’s where fireproof filing cabinets come in. Whatever records you need to remain safe will be safe when stored in one of these cabinets. They look just like regular filing cabinets. Have you ever wondered how they work?



What does this really mean?

These types of cabinets or safes for that matter, offer protection to a certain level, which is more than that offered by normal cabinets or safes - thus, they give time for the firefighters to do their job.

For instance, let us assume that the cabinet or safe of this type is in a location that has caught fire. Now, all these "special" cabinets and safes are given some kind of a fire rating. This rating is based on hours. So the cabinet is currently on fire. We will assume that there is a 1 hour fire rating on this particular cabinet.



Understanding fire ratings

In comparison to a regular cabinet, this 1 hour rating sort of presents a unique opportunity. A window of 1 hour to protect the things within it, while the firefighters do their job of fighting the raging fires and dousing all the flames!



The one hour could be all the firefighters need to get the blaze under control and save your things. So because of this, your possessions have a better life expectancy than normal. Be forewarned though. There are a lot of so called fireproof filing cabinets, but you should only choose those that have met the ISO standards.



Who would be in need of such kinds of such types of cabinets?

That's an easy answer - anyone that needs a new filing cabinet or wants to protect their belongings - besides you never know when you may have a fire, right? Besides, you need a cabinet you can count on.



There are a large variety of fireproof filing cabinets for personal use and business use. You now know what they are and the great benefits they offer for protecting your vital records. Why risk it?