Fire isn’t the only thing that your fireproof safe can protect your valuables against. Many fireproof safes on the market, especially the more heavy duty ones from leading manufacturers, can also provide burglar resistance. This in turn means greater peace of mind for you.

Since most fireproof safes feature some kind of lock, you might argue that they all provide protection against theft and burglary. However, the basic key lock on a fire chest is unlikely to deter an experienced thief, especially not when the fire chest can probably quite easily be picked up and carried away to be broken open later. Similarly, a basic fire safe that hasn’t been constructed with burglar resistance in mind is unlikely to withstand a brute force attack. Nor is it likely to resist a more sophisticated attempt to open it with specialized tools.

In much the same way as fireproof safes are tested, rated and certified, so too are products designed to be burglar resistant. At a minimum, such products will have a cash rating and a valuables rating (which is ten times the case rating). These ratings are usually decided on by the manufacturers in line with guidelines issued by security and insurance companies. The higher the cash and valuables rating, the more secure the safe.

Many security safes are also independently tested and certified to national, European or international standards. Some of the more well-regarded burglar test standards include the EN 14450 S1 and S2 and the EN 1143-1 “Eurograde.” Eurogrades run from 0 to 7 (or 0 to VII to use the correct Roman numerals).

EN 14450 S1 safes have a cash rating of £3,000. S2 safes have a cash rating of £4,000. Eurograde cash ratings start at £6,000 and run as high as £250,000.

It should be noted that cash ratings given here are guidelines only. You should always consult your insurance company before purchasing a safe meant to deter thieves.