A safe will protect your valuables from thieves

By Agnes Kyotalengerire

ACCORDING to media reports, many people have lost valuables to fire outbreaks and burglary.

Joseph Mugisha, a fire officer at the Fire Brigade,, says: “Using a steel safe is the only way of safeguarding your valuables from fire, burglary and unauthorised access.”

The good news is that shops in town are flooded with safes of different types: the key lock, combination and electronic digital safes. They come in different sizes.

A safe is a storage equipment made of strong and hardened steel that is fire resistant.

David Waisadha, the assistant consultant security equipments at The Copy Cat Uganda Limited on Jinja Road, says: “We have got safes which are fire and burglary resistant in various sizes and at pocket friendly prices. So, there is no excuse for keeping valuables in polythene bags, wooden boxes or drawers.”

How safes operate
Waisadha explains that the key safes are operated using an ordinary key to open, while the key and combination safes use both the combination and key. Without either of the functions, the safe does not open.

The electronic digital safe operates on batteries and has an electronic digital lock plus three emergency keys. To open the electronic digital safe, one has got to feed in the code/password of up to nine digits.

Waisadha says whether key, combination or digital, all safes have a tongue and groove construction that prevents fire fumes from entering into the safe in case of a fire break out.

Judith Nabimanya, a sales executive at Foot Steps on Jinja road, says: “Though the safes serve the same purpose of fire and burglary proof, it is advisable to buy the electronic digital safes because of the advantages they have over the key and combination.”

Nabimanya explains that the electronic digital safe has a provision for installing and using two passwords.

She adds that in case the user forgets the password, an emergency key is used to override the password as opposed to the key and combination safe.

She explains that in case the thieves steal the emergency key, the user can change the password and still access the safe as opposed to the key and combination locks.

The password provides facility for flexibility and convenience as opposed to the key and combination safes.
While shopping, it is advisable to buy safes with a provision for bolting to the ground, in the wall and or wardrobe. Once bolted, a thief cannot carry your safe away.

Paulson Chacko, a consultant security and banking equipments officer at Copy Cat says: “Although people think safes are only used in banks and big business organisations, individuals can also use them to keep money, say at business places.”

Chacko says apart from keeping money, the safe also keep expensive jewellery and important documents like land titles from unauthorised access.

However, Mugisha cautions that although the safes are strong, they should be kept in a hidden place to avoid tempting thieves.

Preferably, they should be built in the wall whatever their size, to guard them from fire.