Fire safes, unlike a security safe, do not necessarily protect items from being stolen as the primary protection is from fire rather than theft. As a result, this type of safe should be gauged by its fire rating which is usually given in terms of minutes. This indicates the length of time that a safe will offer full fire resistance.

Fire ratings for fire safes designed for storing paper vary from 30 minutes to an incredible duration of three hours. You should also note that these safes are designed with quality fire resistant materials to provide the utmost level of protection from extreme heat and to help keep the documents kept inside safe. As a result, their internal capacity is often reduced.

Another issue with fire safes for paper documents is the lack of appropriate anchor points. Many fire safes do not have the facility to bolt them to the floor. They might provide resistance to heat, but they have no pre-drilled holes in their base or rear. Certain fire safe models come with pre-drilled holes. These allow for bolt-down fixing. However, their maximum protection may get reduced to 60 minutes.

Popular types of fire safe include fire document cupboards, fire document safes, fire filing cabinets, fire document chests and fire data safes.