House fires, not something I want to think about, but they are a real possibility. The National Fire Protection Association reports that there are as many as 400,000 house fires every year in the United States. It isn’t something we should ignore. With our most valued possessions at risk, the old adage, prepare for the worst and hope for the best, is a good approach. That means, take precautions to prevent the most common causes of house fires, and consider a home safe to protect key valuables as your last line of defense, just in case.

A recent National Fire Protection Association report indicates the most common causes of house fires. Below is that list and suggested precautions.

Cooking. The #1 cause of house fires, accounting for 42% of reported incidents, is cooking. Open flames from the stove and intense heat in the oven easily result in a fire when unsupervised. Most often food or cooking tools catch fire and quickly lose control. While giving up cooking all together may be a bit extreme, paying extra attention and never leaving the kitchen while preparing food is an easy way to reduce this risk.

Christmas Trees. Every winter families all around the world bring large trees into their home to celebrate a beloved holiday. However, Christmas trees can easily become a significant hazard. Dry tress combined with strings of lights quickly turn into fire sticks. Before placing the tree in your home cut off an inch or so from the bottom of the trunk, removing any dead wood that would prevent the tree from soaking up water. Be vigilant about watering your tree, keep it hydrated! Also be sure to turn off Christmas lights when you go to sleep at night. Or, avoid the risk altogether by getting an artificial tree!
Smoking. Smoking is the source of many of house fires leading to almost 1,000 deaths a year. Lit cigarettes accidentally dropped on any number of household items can quickly become large fires. Only smoking outside will reduce this risk significantly.

Candles. An estimated 18,000 house fires are caused by candles each year. Most of the incidences are due to negligence. Leaving a lit candle unattended can quickly lead to a fire. Numerous flammable materials in the vicinity of a candle can easily catch fire. Reduce this risk by trimming the wick of your candle to help limit the size of the flame, or use battery operated candles.

Appliances, Heaters, Children Playing with Fire. Other common causes of home fires include over use of appliances, home heating, and children playing with fire. Faulty or over-used appliances can easily cause a fire with just a few sparks. Heating systems, especially space heaters and wood stoves, can ignite household items nearby. The curiosity of young children can also lead to threatening fires. Playing with matches, lighters, and candles led to 56,300 fires between 2005 and 2009. Keeping these items out of the reach of children and educating them about the importance of fire safety can help reduce this risk. In the event that a house fire does occur a home safe, in particular a fire safe for the home, will keep important documents and precious valuable safe while you focus on getting your family to safety.

While we can’t eliminate all potential causes of house fires there are some basics that are well worth keeping in mind. Take these precautions and consider purchasing one of the many home safes to protect your most important valuables. Safes for the home are an excellent barrier for items of both monetary and sentimental value.

The news is buzzing about failing banks and financial institutions and many of us are worried about how all of this will affect us. At Maximum Security Safes we have had a sharp rise in the number of people calling and coming in to our “safe” showroom to purchase burglar and fire resistant safes. If you are like these people then you may be considering reducing your exposure at the bank by taking your security into your own hands.

Good quality home safes are very affordable. If you are looking for a safe to secure cash and other valuables you will likely need a safe that is both burglar and fire resistant. Some safes are good for fire resistance, some are good for burglar resistance, but when you want to secure cash and other valuables make sure the home safe you choose is good at both. We have a variety of styles of safes that meet both these criteria – gun safes, jewelry safes, wall safes, high security safes and more. To confirm you are getting what you want look for labels in the safe from independent laboratories that document the fire and/or burglar test the safe has passed. If you are buying a safe from a reputable dealer the old saying, “you get what you pay for” does hold true. These safes come in a variety of different shapes, sizes and price ranges according to your needs.

The best way to have confidence that you are purchasing a safe that will truly address your security needs is to come and see the safes (if you can) and talk to an expert. At Maximum Security we have a showroom with over 100 different safes on display and experts who can help you chose the right one for your needs. Inventory is moving fast, call or visit us today.

If you follow the news you most certainly have heard of the sharply rising steel prices. The Herald Tribune reports that indeed these prices have risen almost 50% this year and are expected to continue to do so – due to the rising price of raw materials and the increase in global demand. These prices are passed down through the distribution chain and ultimately lead to higher prices for the consumer.

Given that steel is a major element in the production of safes our industry is feeling a direct impact. Manufacturers are raising prices. Already since December of 2007 Cannon Safes, one of the largest volume safe manufacturers in the world has raised prices three times. Cannon Safes is not alone, other manufacturers have been forced into similar patterns. In spite of these challenges the top safe manufacturers that we work with continue to roll out new and innovative security solutions. For example, Cannon Safes is offering new added value accessories as well as new colors. The best news is that Maximum Security Safes is a low overhead, high volume safe specialty store so we can continue to offer you greatly discounted prices…as well as the expert consulting that we are known for.

Purchasing the “least expensive” security safe may require a more careful examination than you realize. Let me share with you a real life story of a customer of ours. Like so many of us this gentleman knew he needed a safe but didn’t have time to look into the decision carefully. So, he did what many homeowners and small businesses do, he bought a safe from a big box store that he had seen for months and knew was a “great deal”. A few months later the lock malfunctioned and he couldn’t get the safe to open. In a hurry to get to his valuables he grabbed a screw driver and within five minutes was able to pop the door off the “security” safe. The hinges were spot welded onto the body of the safe with only two small dots for each hinge. In this case his only loss was the cost of the safe – others may not be so fortunate.

At Maximum Security Safes we provide expert consulting by phone or in person to help you select the best safe for your needs. As a safe specialty store we buy wide variety of safes in volume and operate with very low overhead so we can offer highly discounted prices. For our Southern California customers we have a large showroom just off the 5 and 55 freeways in Santa Ana where we have on display a selection of over 100 different safes. We can help you quickly identify what safe will provide the protection you need at a price you can afford.

Call us today so that we can help you protect your valuables. If seeing is believing stop by and see with your own eyes the “great deal” of a security safe gone bad (donated to us by our customer above); you will no longer be tempted to make the same mistake this gentleman made.

What were they thinking?  Two men steal a security safe and are stopped by police as they drive away in the wee hours of the night with the safe hanging out  the trunk of their compact sedan.  It begins with a familiar story, recently fired employee decides to get back at his employer.  With his inside knowledge he is able to get into the building and knows where to find the safe.  The business owner has purchased a quality security safe and the ex-employee and his partner are unable to break into the safe on-site.  So, they load it into their vehicle and are on their way to a private spot where they will have more time to break into the safe.  The problem is that they can’t close the trunk with the safe in it, in fact it is in clear view and the weight of the safe draws even more attention by making the light-weight car a low rider.

After speaking with the manager of the restaurant we were able to help him make sure that nothing like this ever happens to his store again.  This is just one more example of how valuable expert consulting is in selecting the right security safe and the right installation for your safe.  If you chose correctly you should only have to buy a safe once – call us at Maximum Security Safes so that our experienced consultants can help you select the best solution to your security needs.

Moral of the story – some thieves are too stupid for their own good.