When it comes time to install or update a home security system and taking other precautions to avoid unwanted intrusions, take a moment to think about installing some interior safety features to further protect your most valuable and irreplaceable possessions. If for some reason your home alarm stops working without your noticing or the police are not dispatched to the scene of a burglary when you are away from home, you should know that at the very least, you have secured your belongings in locked cases and safes.
The first step to deciding what kind and what size of a safe you need is determining what you want to keep locked away, and who you are keeping it away from. The size also will determine where you can keep your safe: in a closet, mounted to a wall, or anchored to the floor.
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You should consider acquiring a safe for these irreplaceable items to protect them from burglars or fires, given you don't already keep your important documents, such as birth certificates, trust deeds, wills, and tax papers, in a bank security box. Many households also choose to lock away their guns and family heirlooms in safes, protecting them from both burglars and wandering children. Burglar-resistant safes typically are equipped with solid metal walls and a tough door with a code or combination lock that cannot be picked, drilled or torched through. A quick check with the safe manufacturer will tell you the security level of your particular safe, including the results of drilling and lock-picking tests.
Installing a code-protected, fire-resistant safe in your home is a smart choice. These types of safes are considered record and document safes, which are designed specifically to protect paper from fire, while media safes protect plastic, including magnetic strips and digital information, which ignite at higher temperatures than paper materials. Heavily insulated, these safes maintain the internal temperature of the safe low enough so as not to permit the contents to combust. Such safes must also be able to withstand a fall, in the case of being dropped through a burned-out floor in a fire or during an earthquake. A safe that is not durable enough will break open when dropped from a high enough height. This can be ensured by checking that your safe has been fall-tested by the manufacturer.
If you feel that you must protect your important documents from simply being removed from a drawer or folder and accidentally misplaced, you may want to simply have a lock installed on a drawer. This will prevent the documents from suddenly 'disappearing' and help you keep organizing, but does not call for the extra security of a safe. Another option is to invest in an office safe that can be inserted directly into a drawer or a file cabinet. These safes are generally less expensive, though with added security features, the price will tend to increase.
A safe to help protect your valuables is an important part of a well-managed home security system. You may want to check with your security system company to see if they can recommend the right safe for you, as with your insurance company, as they may even provide coverage for or discounts on safe purchases.
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