Jargon Busting

European Testing to EN 1143-1.
There are now set European standards relating to higher security safes. These standards take the form of attack testing by approved national testing houses and cover six different security grades from 0-5.
Safes are put through a series of different attacks tests using a variety of different tools taken from a set list.Safes are then given a grade depending on the time taken and the tools used to gain both partial and full access.
If your safe has been given a European grading by an approved test house both you and your insurance company can rest assured that it has met a set standard and has been tested by independent industry experts.

European Grades according to EN 1143-1
Grade 0: £6000 cash cover
Grade 1: £10,000 cash cover
Grade 2: £17,500 cash cover
Grade 3: £35,000 cash cover
Grade 4: £60,000 cash cover
Grade 5: £100,000 cash cover

ECBS
The ECS are a certification board who oversee European Testing standards for safes in several different countries. They currently give approval and certification to safes tested by the German, Swedish, French and Italian test houses. These are probably the most widely respected and most accepted test laboratories in Europe and include the VDS, CNPP, SSF, SP and Instituto Giordano.
The ECBS plate is your assurance of reliable security levels and insurance company approval.

IMP
IMP stands for the Institute of Precision Mechanics. It is the national testing and certification body in Poland and tests safes to the European standard EN1143-1. If your safe has an IMP plate you can rest assured that it has been rigorously tested to the appropriate level.

LOM
LOM is one of two national testing and certification bodies in Spain. It is based at the University of Madrid. and tests safes to the European standard EN1143-1. If your safe has an LOM plate you can rest assured that it has been rigorously tested to the appropriate level.

Sold Secure
Sold secure is a certification scheme based on the attack testing and certification of domestic safes and other security products. It was set up by the Police, with the help of the Home Office. It is administered by the Master Locksmiths Association which works closely with insurance companies and the Police.
They have three categories for safes that they have tested, each relating to the length of time that it has taken to gain entry using a set tool list. Safes are re-tested on an annual basis which ensures that techniques and tools are kept up to date.

Sold Secure standards:
Gold £3000 cash rating
Silver £2000 cash rating
Bronze £1,000 cash rating

Fire & Data Standards

There are now set European test standards for fire safes. The tests are split into two categories; Paper protection & Data protection. To be successful the temperatures within the safes must not rise above a limit at which either the paper will combust of the data corrupt. There are different tests to cover different time periods and different temperatures to which the safes are subjected.
All of our fire safes have been rigorously tested to the EN 1047-1 European Standard in either Sweden or Germany.

Data Safes: If you want to protect your computer media against the risks of being damaged by fire, explosions, magnetic fields and high humidity you must use a specific Data Safe. This is because computer media is far more vulnerable than any paper documents to all of these elements.

Our Data 4000 Series has been tested to S120 DIS by the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany according to VDMA 24991. This is the highest possible test standard for data protection and involves heating the safe to over 1090°C for two hours as well as dropping it 9.15m to simulate it falling through a burning building. 
The Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany is generally regarded as the leading test house in Europe for Fire & Data safes. If your safe has been tested to S 120 DIS at this institution you can rest assured that you have bought the best protection available on the market today.

The Data 4000 series has also been put through a series of additional independent tests.

Models 4200, 4300 & 4400 have been put through a water submersion test by the technical laboratory for ships in the Technical Research Centre of Finland. The test involved submerging the safes to a depth of 3 meters for a total of four hours. The test also involved proving that the safes were able to sustain the water pressure of burst pipes and firemen’s’ hoses.

Models 4090, 4200, 4300 & 4400 have been put through a magnetic shield test by the Technical Research Centre of Finland against outer magnetism.

Models 4200, 4300 & 4400 have been independently tested by the Finnish Army for terrorist attacks and general explosions. 400g of dynamite was used to try and blow up the safes but all of the internal contents remained in tact. 

The Data Commander and Datacare series have been tested to the NT FIRE 017-120 Diskette standard by the Swedish National Testing & Research Institute. This involves heating the safes to over 1000°C for 2 hours in the most modern fire laboratory in Europe.

General Fire Safes are suitable for storing paper documents & other valuables that are not as sensitive as computer media. They will protect paper against the risk of being burnt in the event of a fire.
The PK-100 and Burton Fire Safe series have been tested to the NT FIRE 017-120 & 017-60 PAPER test respectively. They have been tested by the Swedish National Testing & Research Institute which is the most modern fire laboratory in Europe.
The NT FIRE 017-120 PAPER (PK-100) test involved heating the safes to approximately 1015°C for a total of two hours whilst the contents remained in tact.

The NT FIRE 017-60 PAPER (Burton Fire Safe) test involved heating the safes to approximately 945°C for a total of one hour whilst the contents remained in tact.

Related Products -

- Eurograded Burton Safes
- Securikey Safes
- Burg Wachter