They say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The same could be said for the fire protection features that are found in Liberty gun safes. A multi-pronged approach is needed to provide the most effective defense against fire and smoke. When it comes to the level of fire resistance a safe has, it’s not magic, but smart design that gets the job done.
Three Key Ingredients for Better Safe Fire Protection
If you want superior safe fire protection for your firearms and valued possessions, you need to focus on three key ingredients:
- Layers of fireboard insulation
- Thick steel bodies
- No weak links
More Layers Are Better
For improved fire protection, a gun safe should have multiple layers of fireboard, but not just any fireboard. It should have multiple layers of UL fire-rated fireboard. But safe buyers should be on guard. Some manufacturers’ safes use non-rated 1/2-inch thick sheetrock with spacers to give the appearance of 5/8-inch thick fireboard layers. There should be multiple layers interlinked without gaps throughout the safe, including its ceiling, walls, doors and door jambs.
Thicker is Better
Thick steel walls, ceilings and doors help keep fire and heat out of gun safes. The thicker, the better. Liberty’s gun safes range from 14-gauge steel in our entry-level Centurion to the Presidential’s thick 7-gauge steel construction. When shopping for a safe, pay attention to whether the manufacturer mentions how thick the safe’s steel walls and door are. If they do not have it listed in their spec sheets, it’s likely the steel used is 12-gauge or thinner.
Attention to Details Makes the Liberty Difference
What good is having multiple layers of fireboard and thick steel walls and door if fire and smoke can leak into the safe around the door? An important part of Liberty’s multi-pronged approach for fire protection is the use of a superior door seal and multi-sided active-locking door bolts that improve our safes’ performance against fire, heat and smoke.
All our full-sized gun safes are equipped with Palusol® expanding door seals. And our higher-end models like the Presidential, Lincoln and Franklin are equipped with a superior expanding Palusol V-seal for extra safe fire protection.