For years I have thought myself fairly secure in the notion that my negatives were safe from the ravage and devastation of flame and fire. After all, they were safely tucked away within the vaulted confines of my "fireproof" Kodak Photofile safe. Security, preservation, peace of mind...
NOT!!! A minimum amount of research this holiday season proved I was nowhere near the level of security Papa Kodak had led me to believe. While my current safe may protect paper with a minimum amount of security (provided the fire is put out pronto)- it will do little else.
Seems my "fireproof safe" passes a UL350 testing for 1/2hr, which means it'll keep the confines of the safe within 350 degrees (ie- oven hot) for a grand total of thirty minutes before my glob of already melted negs go up in smoke with the "safe" itself... in other words, it's useless- you don't wanna let your precious negs go beyond 125 degrees max. What ya need is a media safe with a 125 UL testing for 1hr- that'll keep 'em nice and cool and healthy presumably till the firemen have done their thing... But media safes ain't cheap!
I started researching this 'cause my current (not so) safe is just about full up. The only media safe I can afford (the First Alert 2040) that at least touts the required fire safety qualifications (alas, someone in the commentary already proved it sure ain't waterproof as claimed) has internal dimensions that are miniscule. Fortunately, I'm able to fit everything I now have in there since I cut my negs into 5 frame strips, but will need another shortly...
Media safes with considerably larger interiors are con$iderably more expensive. And while much is made about the necessity of preserving your digital files on diamond encrusted, platinum encased DVDs, etc- unless you go through the pains of depositing multiple files at multiple locations on a regular basis, they better be fireproofed, wherever they are...
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