Aftermath

Aftermath
Aftermath

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Final Frontier

Yesterday I awoke with the final holdout of hope that maybe not everything was lost in the fire. I had a fire safe with a lot of very valuable guns and other things like silver bullion and my grandfather's gold pocket watch that had belonged to his grandfather before that.

Centurion safe by Liberty Safe company

I went and picked up my truck from my friends house. It had a generator in back that I had borrowed. We would need that to run the cutoff tool that would be used to cut through the "fire" steel at the top of the safe. The steel was about 1/8" thick so the process was not all that quick. I watched, waited and hoped as the sparks flew.

We videoed the entire affair and hoped that in the end we would be able to post a glowing victory video and hold up the manufacturer of the Centurion Fire Safe as a model of what a fire safe should be. That didn't happen.










6 comments:

  1. I'm so sad for your loss. I remember helping you move that safe. It seemed so... beefy. Guess heft doesn't mean squat.

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  2. My heart breaks for you David. We are so sorry. Bryan had asked me if your safe made it through the fire. He remembered you showing him all of your guns and treasures in that safe. Your family heirlooms. Unbelievable that the fireproof safe was NOT fireproof. How can they be allowed to say that if they are not?
    Sending you our love. Please let us know if you need any help. I have my sawyer certificate and Bryan has a truck if you need help with anything. Pam

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  3. Got a response from the company...

    Dear David Cottrell,

    Sorry to hear of your recent experience with the fire.

    Liberty Safes vary in fire protection from 20 - 150 minutes at 1200 degrees. Centurion models are rated at 1200 degree for 30 minutes.

    Was your safe involved in the recent forest fires there in Colorado? Forest fires reach above 1400 degrees and safes involved in these fires can be exposed to those temperatures for extended periods of time or even until the fire goes out on its own. It’s not uncommon for this turn extend into days.

    Your safe has a lifetime warranty. Liberty Safe will replace the safe when it’s damaged in a fire. I have attached a form to help you with this process. [removed for our privacy]

    Please let me know if you have any questions. Again we are very sorry to hear about your loss.

    Best Regards,

    Evan Adamson
    Customer Service
    & Technical Support Manager
    Liberty Safe
    ===============================================================

    My response...

    I have no collection left to put in a safe. Everything I owned was destroyed beyond the possibility of restoration. That includes guns that are not replaceable and that were passed down to me from members of my family from the early 1900's.

    Also, I cannot imagine why I would want to get another one of these since it didn't do what it was intended to do in the first place. The best that I can do at this point is try and make sure no one else makes the same mistake.

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  4. Sorry to hear you lost those guns.

    1200 degrees for 30 minutes would be perfect for a city-dweller where the response time for the Fire Department is about 5-10 minutes.

    If you ever need another safe (from any manufacturer, you need to get one with thicker walls and a longer fire rating.)

    I wouldn't blame the safe.

    Regards, Mark

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  5. I would and I do, but thanks for your input.

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