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Fire resistance on a gun safe can be incredibly important for so many people, especially if you are someone that lives away from town, and away from the closest fire department. In this article, we are discussing my favorite gun safes, with the best fire ratings on the market today. Each of these bring a different aspect, but all have the best fire rating in their category.
- Lock: Electronic, Mechanical or Biometric
- Dimensions: 60" High by 33" Wide by 27" Deep
- Steel: 7 gauge (3 gauge door)
- Fire Rating: 160 min 1400 degrees
- Weight: 1098 pounds
- Awesome door and body steel gauge
- One of the best fire ratings in the industry
- USA Made
- Lots of lock options (including high-quality biometric)
- Extremely heavy
- Traditional interior
- Dimensions: 60.5" High by 30.25" Wide by 24.75" Deep
- Steel: 7 gauge
- Fire Rating: 150 mins at 1200 degrees
- Weight: 1021 pounds
- Extremely high fire rating
- One of the best steel gauge's available
- Awesome warranty from Liberty Safe
- High quality locking mechanism
- Very expensive
- Extremely heavyweight
- Lock: Electronic, Mechanical or Biometric
- Dimensions: 60" High by 46" Wide by 27" Deep
- Steel: 7 gauge
- Fire Rating: 120 min 1750 degrees
- Weight: 1425 pounds
- Impressive fire rating
- Tons of customizations
- Axis Interior (one of my favorite)
- Thick steel gauge
- Equipped with corner bolts
- Very heavy
- Very expensive
Are gun safes fireproof? You see the “fireproof” word all over the place on lower end gun safes. Did you know that there isn’t a single safe on the market that is truly “fireproof”? This article I wrote discusses why safes are not fireproof, and really should not be marketed that way.
- Dimensions: 59" High by 22" Wide by 17.5" Deep
- Steel: 9 gauge (2 layers of steel)
- Fire Rating: 60 mins at 2300 degrees
- Weight: 400 pounds
- Modular design gun safe
- Great build quality
- Fantastic price for fire rating
- High steel gauge
- Does not have a large capacity (see larger versions)
- Interior isn't anything special
How are gun safes fire rated? Gun safes are able to achieve their fire rating by multiple different means. Most safes on the market today utilize gypsum board, which is essentially dry wall. You also have fire blanket style safes, safes with cement in them, and even safes with spray in foam fire resistant materials. Another common method is to leave a air pocket between different layers of steel, as this can slow down the rate of rising air temperatures considerably. Make sure to read this article here, where we go in depth about how safes are fire rated!
- Dimensions: 59.25" High by 24" Wide by 21" Deep
- Steel: 11 gauge
- Fire Rating: 120 min at Unknown Degrees
- Weight: 751 pounds
- High end fire rating
- Great high quality safe that can fit in a closet
- Made in the USA
- Uses lightweight DryLight fill for fire rating
- Very heavy
- Quite expensive
- Dimensions: 59” High by 39” Wide by 24” Deep
- Steel: 9 gauge
- Fire Rating: 120 mins at 1875 degrees
- Weight: 925 pounds
- Awesome value
- Optional biometric lock available
- Hard-plate behind lock
- Imported safe
- Non-name-brand locking mechanism
What is a good fire rating? If you are reading this article, it is probably because you want the best-of-the-best when it comes to fire resistance. However, you might not even need the best! Read through this article here, where we talk about what a good fire rating is, and how much you need.
- Dimensions: 60" High by 42" Wide by 30" Deep
- Steel: 10 gauge
- Fire Rating: 150 min 1400 degrees
- Weight: 1406 pounds
- Amazing value for the fire rating
- Lifetime warranty
- Large capacity
- Imported safe
- Very heavy, especially for steel gauge
- Dimensions: 66″ High by 37″ Wide by 27″ Deep
- Steel: 10 gauge
- Fire Rating: 120 min 1680 degrees (w/ Reinforced Fire Liner)
- Weight: 1125 pounds
- Awesome fire rating
- Completely custom
- Still budget friendly for the fire rating
- Backed by Fort Knox’s warranty
- Still only 10 gauge (this is upgradable easily)
Need water resistance? There are not many gun safes on the market today that offer both a fire rating, and a water resistance rating. Most gun safes are not truly air tight, which leaves places for water to get in (such as the dehumidifier hole in the back). That said, here is quick list of water resistant safes!
- Dimensions: 59″ High by 39″ Wide by 24″ Deep
- Steel: 10 gauge
- Fire Rating: 120 min at 1400 degrees
- Weight: 925 pounds
- Affordable price point for the fire rating
- 10 gauge steel
- Assembled in the USA
- Low recognition company
What to look for in a gun safe with awesome fire ratings?
1. What fire rating do you need?
If you are reading this article, it is likely because you want the best of the best when it comes to fire ratings. Generally speaking, you won’t find any gun safes with a fire rating of over 160 minutes, and most highly fire-rated safes are in the 120 to 150-minute rating. If you are someone that lives outside of a normal fire district, or you commonly are worried about forest fires, then you probably should be opting for one of these.
However, if you live somewhere in a town, or you have fire suppression systems, you might not need quite as much fire rating.
2. Does the safe still have great security?
The most important thing for most gun safes is that they are highly secure, while the fire rating is secondary.
Make sure, when you are shopping for your gun safe, that you don’t ignore the security side of things, and only pay attention to the fire rating, as you might end up with something less than secure in the end. All of the safes on the list above offer awesome security, fire rating, to price.
3. Is it built by a reputable company?
Many warranties offer a warranty around fire, and will sometimes replace or repair your gun safe if it has been affected by a fire. That said, make sure to purchase a gun safe from a reputable company, as you don’t want the warranty to become invalid due to the company going out of business, or just deciding they don’t want to hold up to the warranty.
4. Is it worth the price?
Don’t go too crazy with your gun safe! Make sure to pay attention to all of the features it offers, and make sure that it is worth the price. You should also consider the value of the items you are putting in the safe as well. If you are only putting $1000 worth of valuables in the safe, but are spending $9000, you are probably doing something wrong.
Why are highly fire-rated gun safes so heavy?
Most gun safes are fire-rated using gypsum board (aka drywall). This material is incredibly heavy, and many times is the major reason why a gun safe is heavy. In the end, it likely is much heavier than the steel gauge.
This is something to keep an eye on! Many knock-offs and no-name brands will add fire protection (that doesn’t do much) so that the weight of the safe is higher. This gives a false sense of security to people that may think that heavier means more secure.
If you don’t like the idea of having drywall in your safe, we have a complete guide to safes without this material right here!
Conclusion
I hope that this article helped you out on your search (and hopefully answered a few questions along the way) for finding the right safe for your home. Make sure to keep an eye on the site for more advice on purchasing a gun safe!
