Six Things I Learned from Owners of Sentry Safes who have Suffered a Fire

There are many impressive things about Sentry safes. Things such as they are a family owned business for 75 years and three generations, they use rigorous UL and ETL testing standards to insure protection against fire, flooding and theft, all their products are made in the U.S.A, they have a large selection of safes in a wide price range to suit most any needs, and they are continually seeking ways to make better and more innovative products that keep pace in our technologically advanced world. Hearing all that is nice, but how do they perform in the real world? Luckily, you don't have to just take Sentry Safes word for it, there are hundreds of testimonials about these great safes and some of them can easily be found online.

One of my favorite stories was purely a fluke. The owner had left his Sentry safe open and yet the contents were still preserved. Their safe was stored on the second floor, and when the fire  burned through the floor, the safe fell through to the first floor and when it landed, it landed on its back and the door to the safe fell closed. Though not locked, this was enough, with the heat, to seal the door closed and all the contents survived the blaze (including their children's adoption papers).

I read many similar stories, and though they are all slightly different, they do have similar themes.  Here are the main things that I learned from the vast array of people who have suffered a loss by fire, but were fortunate enough to have one or more Sentry safes.

1. They never thought it would happen to them. No one plans to have their house burn down (well, almost no one), but it can happen to anyone at any time.
   


2. In most of the stories I read, no one was home when the fire started, so there was no opportunity to grab a few precious things before fleeing the fire.
   


3. The only things that survived the individual infernos were the few, important items that were preserved in the Sentry safes. There were common themes amongst all of the people. Important paperwork was listed in every story that listed items. Other items were backed up digital files (especially photos), coins, family heirlooms, and film negatives.
   


4. The Sentry safes were owned by both home owners and businesses. Sentry makes a wide variety of products suitable for many needs, and all fire safes are built with the same quality to withstand the hottest of blazes.
   


5. Hardly any of them were large safes. There were a few mid-size safes represented and a lot of Sentry safes file boxes and fire chests. Both of these are relatively small and are quite affordable. I point this out because many people think large, heavy and expensive when you mention a safe, but that is not necessarily true. There are many other great options available to the home owner to protect their valuables and other personal items. The only regret I ever read about was related to this, regret that they didn't have a larger safe or multiple Sentry safes to protect a larger variety of items.
   


6. Finally, the last thing I learned from these stories is that everybody was exceptionally pleased with their Sentry safes, and replaced them immediately to help protect against any future incidences.
   

So, don't get caught unprepared. Make sure Sentry safes can be found in your home to help protect against the unforeseen tragedy of a home fire.