There are a vast range of fire tests to which fireproof safes can be subjected. Every country typically has its own national test standard. In Europe, certain standards are decided at European level by a panel of experts and enacted by the individual member states. This means that a safe tested in Germany is tested to the same standards as one tested in the UK.

European standards are recognized by their EN designation; e.g. EN 1047, a European fire test standard. Each country typically adds their own prefix to these standards when signing them into law. For instance in Britain, the EN 1047 standard is more correctly called the BS EN 1047. Manufacturers will sometimes include a country’s prefix code when discussing the fire test on a particular safe. However, it’s more typical for them to simply use the basic EN code.

Some independent labs perform their own fire tests that are particularly well regarded in the industry and have become de facto standards in themselves.

Here are some of the more common fire tests you might see mentioned:

• EN 1047 Fire Test
• EN 15659 Fire Test
• KSG 4500 Fire Test
• NT FIRE 017 Fire Test
• UL 72 Fire Tests
• S 1037-12 (JIS) Fire Test
• Other Fire Tests