what to put in the safe for SHTF/JIC

[kirkorner]

So the covered bridge festival has started and the old man decided I needed a new safe. It is not a safe of great security (keyed, not a combination, and small in size), but it is fire safe. Besides important documents, what's some ideas of things to keep in my safe for SHTF? Size is not large (16" x 9.5" x 9.5") so space is limited.

So far I have came up with my pistol, ammo for the pistol, and some mags...

what's your thoughts?

 

[Kmcinnes]

Not really sure, you can't fit much ammo in a small safe with a gun as well. Maybe precious metals?

 

[The Bubba Effect]

I like twenty dollar bills. In some scenarios they would be worthless, in many they would be pretty darn handy.

 

[10-32]

If you're talking about one of those Sentry Fire Safes, they warn against storing a firearm inside them for some reason.

 

[kirkorner]

It's old school. My guess is it's 30 years old. I would say it's better than the old Sentry

 

[GoDawgs]

When I think about a small fire safe, I think of things that would be valuable to store to restart your life after a fire. What about:

-cash: several hundred in small denominations
-social security cards, passports
-copies of LTCH
-extra checkbooks
-historical income tax information
-financial information, maybe semi-recent bank statements, 401k statement, just so you have the account numbers handy
-insurance policy information

If you don't store it in the fire safe, where would you store this type of stuff?

 

[iwearcowboyboots]

If you're talking about one of those Sentry Fire Safes, they warn against storing a firearm inside them for some reason.

I wonder if it is because those are easy to lift and easier to pick.

 

[Libertarian01]

To Kirkorner,

Imagine the hypothetical that you and your family are awoken in the middle of the night by fire. In only your pajamas AND NOTHING ELSE you escape and survive while all material things are lost. Oh, and the car burns up either in the garage or in the driveway.

You are left standing in the street thankful to be alive with your loved ones. The ONLY THING that survived was that little safe and its contents.

What do you need now?

How about credit card numbers along with the bank telephone number to order replacements?

Copies of all types of ID including but not limited to licenses, passports, permits, etc.

All insurance information including documents and pictures of every single room from different angles to help you remember what to claim on the insurance loss report?

Bank account numbers?
Birth certificates.
Computer logins & passwords?
Tax information.
Certain small family heirlooms that are irreplaceable.

You know your life. Walk through a month of it and imagine everyplace you go and everything you do. What would you be without?

Then you have your answer.

Regards,

Doug

 

[10-32]

I wonder if it is because those are easy to lift and easier to pick.

Not sure. Even the lager ones that you bolt down and have the dial combo locks have that warning.

 

[gunman41mag]

To Kirkorner,

Imagine the hypothetical that you and your family are awoken in the middle of the night by fire. In only your pajamas AND NOTHING ELSE you escape and survive while all material things are lost. Oh, and the car burns up either in the garage or in the driveway.

You are left standing in the street thankful to be alive with your loved ones. The ONLY THING that survived was that little safe and its contents.

What do you need now?

How about credit card numbers along with the bank telephone number to order replacements?

Copies of all types of ID including but not limited to licenses, passports, permits, etc.

All insurance information including documents and pictures of every single room from different angles to help you remember what to claim on the insurance loss report?

Bank account numbers?
Birth certificates.
Computer logins & passwords?
Tax information.
Certain small family heirlooms that are irreplaceable.

You know your life. Walk through a month of it and imagine everyplace you go and everything you do. What would you be without?

Then you have your answer.

Regards,

Doug

You left out PASSPORT

 

[Dorky_D]

Not sure. Even the lager ones that you bolt down and have the dial combo locks have that warning.

Yet, you can buy a security cabinet, that can be easily opened with a crow bar.

 

[mikefraz]

You left out PASSPORT

Read it again. It's in there

 

[Meister]

The idea is to never NEED the safe. Prepare for the eventualities possible and negate the risks of outside forces in your life. Diversify as much as possible. Keep several stashes so you can never be completely devoid of resources. Practice your skills and situational awareness. When things start to go bad, activate your plan.

In a fire situation, have things packed and ready to go at a moments notice. A fire safe is rate for 1 hour. Is the fire department close enough to put out the blaze in less than and hour? Is the safe waterproof? What if there is no fire department available due to insurrection or natural disaster? Would the Safe hinder an armed retreat?

These are question you should ask yourself and be prepared to overcome the problems.

Good luck!

 

[churchmouse]

To Kirkorner,

Imagine the hypothetical that you and your family are awoken in the middle of the night by fire. In only your pajamas AND NOTHING ELSE you escape and survive while all material things are lost. Oh, and the car burns up either in the garage or in the driveway.

You are left standing in the street thankful to be alive with your loved ones. The ONLY THING that survived was that little safe and its contents.

What do you need now?

How about credit card numbers along with the bank telephone number to order replacements?

Copies of all types of ID including but not limited to licenses, passports, permits, etc.

All insurance information including documents and pictures of every single room from different angles to help you remember what to claim on the insurance loss report?

Bank account numbers?
Birth certificates.
Computer logins & passwords?
Tax information.
Certain small family heirlooms that are irreplaceable.

You know your life. Walk through a month of it and imagine everyplace you go and everything you do. What would you be without?

Then you have your answer.

Regards,

Doug

+1 to you again. This is what I have done to cover our lives. All my kids info as well. Never know when Identity or all material possessions will be compromised.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Not sure. Even the lager ones that you bolt down and have the dial combo locks have that warning.

Because the temps can get high enough inside to make ammo go boom. Ammo going boom inside a safe is not a good thing

 

[Libertarian01]

To All,

I didn't mention this but because it has been brought up I will comment.

Do NOT store ammunition in the gun safe!

I shall repeat: DO NOT STORE AMMUNITION IN THE SAFE!!!

During a fire the temperature of the average home temperature is 1,200 degrees! As I understand it this temp is reached damn fast!

The temperature inside the safe can reach 350 degrees quickly.

Ammunition inside the safe = BAD! Boom! KaBoom! Big badda boom!

We do not want the things we are trying to protect blown up or caught on fire due to internal fires started by gunpowder inside a shell.

Also do NOT trust what the safe manufacturer says, no matter what! Their job is to sell a product and all the nonsense I have seen spewed is pure propaganda.

I choose to get something tested by Underwriters Laboratories. They have no profit motive to "beef up" how good the safe is. They have a reputation to protect of doing solidly scientific research on the alleged quality of the product.

CAVEAT: If you want to store ammo or something that could melt at 350 degrees I believe Liberty Safes have a product available. It is basically "a safe within a safe." It is a small container that limits the temperature to 120 degrees so you can safely store digital media such as a CD. I would presume that it would help protect ammunition in there as well.

Regards,

Doug

 

[buckstopshere]

I keep a fire kit and extra lighters in mine....he said ironically

 

[buckstopshere]

 

[dudley0]

My plan is to use a small fire rated safe inside my gun safe for the files, cd's and electronic media. The info is in there now, without the extra fire proofing.

That reminds me... I need to make updated copies of my information.

 

[ThrottleJockey]

Yes, I have a couple of the small sentry fire boxes IN my safe with documents in them, and have a cheapo stack on gun cabinet in a different room for the ammo. I keep USB hard drives in there too. Silver coins, or gold if you can afford them are invaluable. They will never be worth less than face value and most likely will always be worth far more.