What Are Fireproof Cabinets for Documents and What Should You Store in Them?
If your method of caring for important files in your home or office involves a shoebox in the closet or flimsy, three-ringed binders, it may be time to re-evaluate how you store your documents. The best level of protection you can give your important papers is to invest in fireproof cabinets for documents and other valuable items.
What are fireproof cabinets?
A fireproof cabinet is similar to a fireproof safe but with more shelves that are designed to store files. These types of cabinets are mostly used in businesses that frequently handle important papers, such as law firms or insurance firms.
Are fireproof cabinets for documents better than safes?
The short answer to this question is that it depends on what you want to store. If you don’t have that many documents you’d like to protect from theft, loss, or damage, but instead have other items such as jewellery or cash, then a safe may be a better choice.
When choosing safes, always invest in a fireproof safe that can withstand high temperatures for at least 40 minutes to provide better protection for the contents.
What to store in fireproof cabinets
Before you invest in a fireproof safe, cabinet, or any high-security container, give some thought first to what you need and want to store.
Remember that there are fireproof filing cabinets that are specifically made for paper files, which may work better for your home or business.
When it comes to fireproof cabinets for documents, focus on protecting the following:
For homes:
Property insurance and the contact details for your agent
Papers related to end-of-life planning, such as wills, powers of attorney, and health-care proxies
Passports, death certificates, birth certificates, marriage licenses, and social security information
Investment records, bank accounts, and retirement plans
Prescription medication, contact details of health care providers, and list of family doctors
Stocks and bonds
Warranties
Titles of vehicles and spare keysImportant electronic files (e.g. photos, videos, external drives, etc.)
For offices:
Leases and grants
Client files
Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
Founding documents
Important software source codes
Emergency protocol documents (in the event of a disaster)
Documents related to accounting, tax records, payrolls, insurance records, shipping records, and similar files
Contracts of agreements that show ownership of property, products, etc.
Where to place the fireproof cabinet
If you’re planning on restricting access to the cabinet to specific employees, consider placing it in a room with an access control system. This also makes it more difficult for burglars to get a hold of the files in the event of a break-in.
Since documents are highly flammable, it’s best to place the cabinet in a location that isn’t prone to going up in flames, such as near curtains or plants.