Back in the 70s fire resistant gun safes were designed with drywall fireboard and only had a 30 minute fire rating
. They were also infamous for not doing their job which was of course to protecting guns from fire. Today, that has changed. Fire resistant and fireproof safes come in all different materials including ceramic, and can provide protection for up to 3 hours.
Over the last couple of years, these safes haves significantly improved the quality and level of their fire ratings. However, there are a lot of safes that offer fire resistant and fireproof features on the market right now that are not as reliable as one would hope. Therefore, it is important for you to do some research before you go out and shop for one.
When buying a fireproof safe today:
Make sure the door does not rattle when closed. This means it does not seal well and will not protect well from smoke or even fire damage.
Decide whether you want a 1, 2 or 3 hour fire protection on your safe. Keep in mind, most house fires typically only burn for one hour or less and longer lasting fire protection costs more money.
Fireproof vs. fire resistant: The term fire proof refers to safes with 60 plus minute fire ratings. Typically, these babies will last through almost any fire. The term fire resistant implies that the safe will only last about 20-30 minutes in a fire and depending on the type of lock and security of the door it could be susceptible to smoke damage.