The rate of resistance of the safe to high temperatures. You should pay attention to this parameter when choosing a safe for storing documents or electronic media that are sensitive to high temperatures.
Fire resistance classes for safes are usually specified in accordance with the ESC-B EN 15569 and GOST R 50862-2005 standards. The first implies a division into two classes (LFS 30P and 60P), the second fundamental document has a broader class and identifies three categories of fireproof safes:
- B. At an external temperature of 1100 °C, the temperature inside the storage should not exceed 170 °C. This is enough to protect paper documents.
- D. At the same 1100 °C outside, the temperature limit inside is 70 °C. This is already enough to protect hard magnetic disks, magnetic film and film.
— DIS. The maximum temperature inside such safes at 1100 °C outside is 50 °C. This allows them to be used even for floppy disks.
Each category consists of 4 classes, denoted by the numbers 30, 60, 90 or 120, for example 60B or 120D. The figure means the time (in minutes) the temperature inside the safe will remain within the parameters specified by the category while outer temperature is 1100 °C: for example, the first corresponds to the protection of paper from fire for an hour, the second – to the protection of film for two hours.
Nowadays, the most popular fire resistance classes on the market are:
30 min,
60 min..., 90 min, 120 min.
