Best fire- and water-proof folder or box for important documents

October 9, 2024 1:16 PM

Looking for the best fire- and water-proof folder or small box for important documents.

Looking for the best fire- and water-proof folder or small box for important documents.

Something compact as I live in a small space. No space for a safe. I really just want it for a few important documents to keep them safe and easily transportable.

I've read through a few lists online and looked at reviews, but would love your recommendations -- something durable and not too expensive. Even better if you've been through a fire or flood and had your stuff remain safe!

That's all, thanks!

posted by greta simone to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Not an answer, but take photos or scans of the documents and keep them somewhere you'll always be able to access (e.g. cloud storage, your phone).

Honeywell make some nice briefcase-style safes that are water and fire resistant.
posted by pipeski at 2:22 PM on October 9

Any meaningfully fire-rated document safe will be heavy. They're usually a plastic or metal box with several inches of plaster in the walls. The "lighter" option currently listed by Wirecutter weighs about 30 lbs, and the "best" option is nearly 50 lbs. I'd even go so far as to say that a fireproof document case *has* to be heavy to work. There's no magical fireproof material that will passively keep the contents cool in a fire that isn't (relatively) massive. Also, keep in mind these are the weights before you put anything in the safe, though if it is just paper documents you're storing, the contents may be so light you can neglect to count them.

If by "easily transportable" you mean you want to be able to easily take the documents with you in an emergency, you aren't going to take the fire-rated safe. Instead, should pack the documents inside a folder or portfolio that fits inside the safe so you can grab them. This could probably also be waterproof. I keep my important documents in an aloksak, which is basically a durable, fancy ziplock bag. But a gallon freezer bag might be enough, realistically.

Also, keep in mind that any waterproof container, either the document safe or a plastic bag, will also keep all moisture already in your documents in place. This can lead to mold if they're not quite dry when you pack them up. To prevent this, put a few water-absorbing silica gel sachets in whatever you wind up using.
posted by pullayup at 3:34 PM on October 9 [7 favorites]

I bought a fireproof safe bag - it's a messenger bag that's sized for folders / documents. Here's a similar one. I (luckily) haven't tested whether it works, but I figure it's at least better than keeping my documents totally unprotected, and it would be easy to grab if I had to.
posted by beyond_pink at 6:47 AM on October 10 [2 favorites]

My understanding is that these safes are often attractive to burglars, so if that's a worry you might consider other options as an alternative or backup, such as a safe deposit box at a bank.
posted by Aleyn at 12:56 PM on October 10

I bought a small fire box at a hardware store and it got my documents all moldy. Then I spent hours online looking for exactly what you want and came away thinking none of the fire bags or boxes would really do what I want - withstand a full house fire or flood. I ended up getting a regular medium size plastic hanging file box and reorganizing my other 5 file boxes so that the important stuff was all in the one with the handle . I used my label maker to stick labels on each side of it that say “GRAB IN CASE OF FIRE !!!” and showed my wife where it is. So not what you asked exactly, but I’ve conditioned myself to run in there, grab it, and carry it out if needed.

Also I have all the info scanned in Dropbox, which also includes a spreadsheet with all my accounts, assets, and insurance info including beneficiary names. The file box has a printed copy of a document with bootstrap instructions to get to the Dropbox files and my password manager, and on the paper copy only I have written those couple of passwords. The box also has printed recovery codes and next of kin info for things like Gmail and Apple ID. This took a while to get together but it feels good. Sorry again for going off topic a bit …
posted by caviar2d2 at 8:10 PM on October 10