Everything You Need To Know About Fire Safes & Cabinets

For the unprepared, navigating the veritable quagmire of misinformation and unsupported fire and burglary resistance claims in relation to data and document storage can easily, and often does, lead to disaster.

When you need to protect documents and data, from personal paperwork and house deeds to business files, due diligence and a good understanding of fire resistance certifications, claims and protection levels are essential. In the current unregulated safe market the majority of safes and cabinets it is claimed have a fire resistance or are advertised specifically for the purpose of protecting documents or data, do so without demonstrating any proof of standard whatsoever, often leaving consumers and businesses with an entirely false sense of security that can easily lead to a catastrophic loss.

For the average small to medium sized business, data safes and fireproof document cabinets are of increasing relevance since the arrival of the General Data Protection Regulation which imposes heavy fines if data relevant to individuals is not adequately protected. Unfortunately, it is often not only the case that during day to day operations access to data held in documents, on CCTV, flash drives or portable electronic devices is inadequately protected, but when a safe or cabinet has been purchased to protect and track access to data, misinformation, misunderstandings and unsupported fire resistance claims often result in the purchase of a unit that offers very little protection from fire, unauthorised access and burglary.

Qualified Expert Advice Is Critical

When it comes to protecting physical data long-term, there is no substitute for experienced, qualified advice. Considerations such as certification of fire resistance and burglary protection are just the starting point. Different types of data media have different degradation levels under different stress factors, for example, humidity as well as temperature is an important factor for preserving magnetic data in a fire, whereas paper documents have a far higher stress level. Competent advice needs to be specific to both the environment and the type of media. 

Our expertise has been relied on by:

N.A.T.O. Europe, The U.S. Air Force (Europe), The National Treasury Management Agency (Ireland), The Department Of Communications (NCSC Cyber Security) (Ireland), The Revenue Commissioners, Electricity Supply Board (Cyber Security) (Ireland), The Danish Defence Forces (Afghanistan), PayPal (Worldwide), Grant Thornton, The Insurance Institute of Ireland, The Royal College Of Surgeons, BFC Bank, Interxion Data Centres, The Private Security Authority, Isle of Man Gold Bullion, Brown Thomas, Bvlgari, Boodles, Druids Glen, The Shelbourne Hotel, and many others ....

Our seminars on safes, strongrooms and HNW secure storage have been part of Continuing Professional Development for underwriters and insurers having been awarded CPD points by the Insurance Institute of Ireland and the Chartered Insurance Institute (UK).

Case Study

Photos below show a Phoenix “Fire Chief”, one of fourteen units that was purchased by a group of Credit Unions for the protection of client documents that would fall under the GDPR. The choice of unit was apparently based on several factors but the low price for a recognisable brand certainly came into it, however, when Certified Safes Ireland™ were asked to examine the units it became clear that rather than purchasing fire and burglary resistant cabinets suitable for GDPR documents at a good price, the client had in fact purchased thousands of Euros worth of relatively expensive light steel storage cabinets with no accredited certified fire or burglary resistance whatsoever.

Our examination found the following:

• There was no indication anywhere on the cabinets of a claim the Phoenix “Fire Chief” was fire resistant.
• There were no fire protection strips or seals anywhere on the cabinets.
  
• Air gaps around door frames were so wide the locking bolts of the cabinet were clearly visible. These gaps would aid airflow for combustion rather than deny it as well as allowing the locking bolts to be cut in seconds with a battery powered angle grinder. (Photo below - left)
• The only mark found anywhere on the cabinets was a sticker making the claim that the units are S1 security cabinets, the lowest level of protection under European standards, however, even this claim is unaccredited. (Photo below - right)

The Legal Situation

Obviously, a Czech made metal cabinet with no accredited certified fire or burglary resistance is not what the owners of the units thought they had purchased. The mistake meant that documents held by the organisation were not being stored in compliance with the groups GDPR risk assessment, opening up the possibility of sanctions, and even legal action if unlawful destruction was caused to third party data due to burglary or fire. The fact remains however, that nowhere on the data sheet for the Phoenix “Fire Chief”did Phoenix make the claim that these units were certified for fire resistance. There is a reference to “Fire Resistance” which states “Recommended for 30 minutes fire protection for paper records” but as no accredited certification of fire resistance was referred to by Phoenix, this recommendation is simply the opinion of Phoenix Safe Company Ltd. The name “Fire Chief” might give some people the impression that the unit is fire resistant but the only certification mentioned on the Phoenix “Fire Chief” PDF is a claim that the cabinet is an S1 Security Cabinet certified by Trezor Test in the Czech Republic. S1 is the lowest level of burglary resistance for a cabinet test with hand tools. The test time for S1 is 1.5 minutes.

European Law

EU Parliament regulation 765/2008 created the system that provides the legal basis of accreditation for the certification of a safe or cabinet for the protection of paper documents or data from fire and structural collapse. Such certification will be indicated under standard EN15659 (Light Fire) and EN1047-1 (Data). Accredited European certification that a safe or cabinet is suitable to protect paper or data will always be displayed on a stamped metal plate on the inside of the unit's door. This information will never appear on a sticker.

Fire resistance certification is completely separate to any burglary resistance certification plate that a safe may have. There is absolutely no connection between the grade of a safe and the unit's fire resistance.  The same information will be available on accredited certification documents which are freely available and should always be asked for.

Below are the logos of two certification bodies with European accreditation to certify data cabinets, data safes and data rooms for fire and burglary resistance. The example images of certification plates below them are from ECB-S.

Fire Protection For Paper EN15659

EN15659 is the “Light Fire Storage” certification standard (LFS). Units tested to this standard are designed to provide differing levels of protection against fire usually from 30 minutes (LFS30P) to 60 minutes (LFS60P). The certification plate for light fire storage will appear separately to a burglary resistance certification that may appear on the unit. Air humidity is not measure for this standard.

Fire & Impact Protection For Data EN1047-1

EN1047-1 is the data standard for safes and cabinets. S60P and S120P are standards for the protection of paper documents both having an internal temperature limit of 170°C during testing. Units marked S60D and S120D have an internal temperature limit of 70°C and a humidity limit of 85% during testing. Units marked S60DIS and S120DIS have an internal temperature limit of 52°C and a humidity limit of 85% during testing. Certification plates for this standard will appear separately to any burglary resistance certification that may appear on the unit

Protection class quality characteristic for fireproof protection
European Standards EN1047-1, EN1047-2 and EN15659

The abbreviations in the table stand for:

• Fireproof - Light fireproof storage unit to EN 15659
• S  - Data cabinet to EN 1047-1
• DI - Diskette insert for installation into a data cabinet of protection class S 60 P and S 120 P
• C - Data container to EN 1047-2
• R - Data room to EN 1047-2
• 30 - Exposure to flames for 30 minutes
• 60 - Exposure to flames for 60 minutes
• 120 - Exposure to flames for 120 minutes
• P - Suited for heat sensitive paper documents with stress limits up to 170°C
• D - Suited for heat and humidity sensitive data media with stress limits up to 70°C and 85% air humidity
• DIS - Suited for heat and humidity sensitive data media with stress limits up to 52°C and 85% air humidity

Safes & Cabinets Containing Asbestos Continue To Be Sold

Safes, document and filing cabinets that contain asbestos continue to be sold on the second-hand market in Ireland, by well-known safe suppliers. The ban on asbestos in Ireland in 2000, far from seeing a reduction in the amount of safes and cabinets that contained asbestos instead saw a surge, as thousands of contaminated safes became available on the second-hand market as they were removed from all over Europe and the UK. With a low level of awareness when it comes to the issue of asbestos in safes and cabinets, huge quantities of these contaminated products have been sold, sometimes being passed off a "almost new" having been re-sprayed and refitted. In Ireland’s case, importation of contaminated safes, fire cabinets and vaults, has happened on an industrial scale and continued well after our national asbestos ban thanks to the free movement of goods within Europe right up until Brexit. Any safe manufactured before 2000 must be presumed to contain asbestos. 

As things stand today in 2022 safes and cabinets that contain asbestos continue to be sold on a daily basis, all over Ireland, by prominent safe suppliers and in private sales. Large numbers of these units are not only in circulation, but more are currently being removed from bank and post office closures where there is no accountability for their disposal, nor a requirement to verify that removal and disposal was done taking the likelihood of asbestos contamination into account. Most of these units make their way back on to the second-hand safe market and can be found for sale on classified ads websites or are sold as "refurbished" safes by well-known safe suppliers.

Chrysotile Asbestos

Chrysotile asbestos fibres, which in the case of safe and cabinet manufacturing are the main type of asbestos fibres we are concerned with, are highly carcinogenic if inhaled. Breathing in air containing even tiny amounts of asbestos fibres of the kind that may result from the opening and closing of a safe or filing cabinet door fitted with asbestos door seals, can lead to asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis and cancers of the lungs and chest lining. Chrysotile asbestos was widely used in door seals on safes, fireproof safes, and fireproof filing cabinets as late as 1995. This invariably took the form of woven asbestos tape adhered around the door frame against which the door would close. It is this woven tape that causes many to be most concerned. Abrasion caused by the opening and shutting of the safe door or filing cabinet door in such close proximity to the user is a high-risk issue, particularly as someone could be opening and closing a unit for decades in a closed environment such as an office.

A study by the BZR Institute in Bonn, Germany, found that asbestos fibres released through abrasion by opening and closing a light metal door on an asbestos fire seal released enough asbestos fibres to exceed the maximum European exposure limit after just three opening and closing cycles.

A safe or cabinet that contains asbestos within its structure is also a danger to maintenance technicians, locksmiths and fire fighters who may be called to a fire where such a unit is located. Due to their age most of these units are quite likely to have a mechanical key or combination lock and therefore likely to have a lock-out event at some stage. On many occasions this requires the safe, cabinet body or door, to be drilled open. Drilling a contaminated safe or cabinet will result in amounts of airborne dust containing asbestos in one of its most dangerous forms due to its incorporation into the body of many safes and cabinets as an anti-combustion filling material or as a curing agent in cement. In a fire asbestos from these units is likely to be released due to intense heat exposure and structural collapse.

 For Advice Call: +353 1 7076011

Certified Safes Ireland™ director Alan Donohoe Redd is a member of the European CEN263 Working Group responsible for writing European Standards for safes, strongrooms (vaults), secure cabinets and physical data protection for the European Union. A registered NATO supplier and a longstanding member of the European Security Systems Association, Alan has a vast range of experience spanning almost 40 years and encompassing installation of safes, strongrooms, physical data protection, CCTV, alarms, access control, secure storage control systems and Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) specification, design, and installation.

Alan is an expert on standards and fraud issues related to secure storage in Europe and the UK, has had articles related to these subjects published by The Law Society Gazette and Irish Broker Magazine, has forced retractions of multiple false claims related to secure storage offerings to the public, including some published by the Irish Times, and has been pivotal in having misleading standards and practises recognised and withdrawn in Ireland, the UK and at a European level.

 Most Locksmiths Know Very Little About Safes

Contrary to what many people may believe the profession of "Locksmith" has long been recognised as one almost completely separate from the supply and installation of safes and strongrooms in the E.U. With most insurers and An Garda Síochána (Irish Police) advising against the use of mechanical locks on safes due to the ease of opening via non-invasive manipulation, the last connection between these two professions is quickly disappearing. There are exceptions to every rule, and a locksmith may have the necessary knowledge to correctly specify, survey for, and anchor a certified safe, however, most locksmiths have very little knowledge in relation to European standards for safes and The Private Security Authority (PSA) does not require any qualifications to issue a locksmith license.

Pitfalls & Scams In The Safe Supply Industry

Ireland and the UK are notorious black spots for fraud and misrepresentation in the safe supply sector. Well-known safe suppliers being penalised for tax evasion and having served time in jail are just some indications of a wide range of malpractice and illegal activity throughout the safe supply industry. We strongly encourage due diligence before engaging a safe supplier or having someone survey your home or business, irrespective of who recommends them.