Burglars use every weak point of the house or flat.





Burglar-resistant doors with the blue ECB•S certification mark offer efficient protection.

The "Red Card" for burglars

Blue mark on doors and safes:
The ESSA supports the "Burglary Protection Day" - Certified security products are more efficient

FRANKFURT/MAIN – October 2013. How secure is my home? This is the key question dealt with in Germany during the Burglary Protection Day on 27 October. Launched by the "K-EINBRUCH (K-Einbruch): Prevention by information" initiative. ESSA – The International Security Association is an official partner of this campaign and recommends users to choose ECB•S-certified front doors and safes.

Winter time: One additional "dark" hour for burglars

With the beginning of winter time, the burglars have one additional evening hour under the cover of darkness. Investing this time in one`s own security is the aim of the Burglary Protection Day. The users show potential intruders the “Red Card” with concrete measures: Ranging from the burglar-resistant door to the safe.

Secure door - secure house

In new buildings and building conversions, burglar-resistant doors offer efficient protection. Since last year, they are also available with the ECB·S certification according to the European Standard EN 1627. Users can find the respective products by means of the list of manufacturers published by the police or on the website of the ESSA: www.ecb-s.com/product-locator.

Safes with the ECB•S certification mark - tested security

The potential buyer of a safe should also use the blue ECB·S certification mark as an orientation. This test seal granted by European Certification Body (ECB) as a neutral certification body stands for reliable security and quality on the basis of the European Standards EN 1143-1 and EN 14450. Information about the certified products is also given on the ESSA website: www.ecb-s.com/products.

ESSA – The International Security Association based in Frankfurt/Main is the leading international association of the security industry. At present, the ESSA has 135 members from 33 countries. Pursuant to its guiding principle "Quality provides Security", the association supports the ECB·S certification of european Certification Body (ECB) GmbH as a neutral certification body. It guarantees maximum security properties to European standards.

ECB•S certified doors offer more resistance. They feature, e.g., an adequate door leaf thickness and little rebate space – this makes jemmying more difficult.



Burglars want to be quick – if a door shows resistance (photo), many will abandon the attempt.




Consumers recognise recommendable doors by the blue ECB•S certification mark.

FRANKFURT/M. - March 2013. Most burglars enter through windows or doors. A burglar resistant front door or apartment door reduces this risk considerably. Consumers can now distinguish these doors by the blue certification mark of European Certification Body (ECB). The first ECB•S-certified models have just been launched on the market.

Certification considers commonly used break-in methods

Burglars normally take a chisel, a screwdriver or the often used crowbar. Others twist out the cylinder of the front door or apartment door. The certification for burglar resistant doors according to the European Standard EN 1627 takes these commonly used methods into account.

A burglar resistant door withstands longer

ECB•S-certified doors offer more resistance and thus increase the time needed by the criminal. This has a deterrent effect. Ralf Demmer from the neutral certification body ECB: “The `normal` burglar will abandon his attempt when he cannot enter the building within two to five minutes. A burglar resistant door can withstand longer and shall resist for exactly this period of time.”

Resistance classes 1 to 6

Certified, burglar resistant models are available in the resistance classes (RC) 1 to 6. The resistance classes 1 to 3 relate to the usual occasional criminals, the classes 4 to 6 consider the techniques used by experienced, skilled burglars.

At least resistance grade 2 for private front doors

ECB recommends at least resistance grade RC2 for private households: “Such front or apartment doors feature an adequate door leaf thickness and little rebate space – this makes jemmying more difficult. Their door fittings prevent, for example, the cylinder from being twisted out. The total construction, including solid hinges and bolts, offers little weak points. The same also applies to overhead fanlights and apertures in the door."

European Certification Body (ECB) GmbH is neutral certification body according to EN 45011. It issues the ECB•S certification mark which guarantees maximum security properties according to European standards. The present number of valid ECB•S certificates in the global security market is 1000 – for burglary resistance products, fire resistance products, burglar resistant doors and high security locks.

The look and certification according to the European Standard EN 1143-1 suggest security – but the differences in quality are huge. During comparison tests with ECB•S certified security products, several safes performed poorly (photo). Some certifying organizations are obviously much more generous than the ESSA. The loser is the user who puts his trust in inferior certificates. (photo: ESSA)

FRANKFURT/M. - Jan. 2010. By far not all safes marked with certificates according to the European Standard EN 1143-1 have the quality of ECB•S certified security products. In recently completed comparison tests, some safes simply failed: One safe marked with resistance grade III only reached the security level of an ECB•S safe of grade I. One safe of grade V complied at best with the ECB•S resistance grade II. The comparison tests of the safes were carried out by the distinguished Stockholm-based SSF testing laboratory.

The look and certification according to the European Standard suggest security – but the differences in quality may be severe. The tested safes did not satisfy the requirements of the security standards they are allegedly based on at all. Both products were certified according to EN 1143-1 (resistance grade III and V, respectively) by a certification body accredited according to EN 45011. The European Security Systems Association (ESSA) is now examining the possibility of sending an official warning to the certification organization concerned.

"We fear that private, commercial and industrial users will opt for the safe with the inferior certificate due to the lower purchasing costs," says the neutral certification body ESSA. "Insurers, too, have not yet reacted to the severe differences in quality. Many insurers still provide insurance coverage for safes with all certificates according to the European Standard EN 1143-1."

The ESSA believes that the inferior certificates are threatening the reputation of all certifications and that the consumers are being fooled by them: "The customer must always be able to rely on the correctness of the specifications given by the manufacturer. `Black sheep` are detrimental to the trust the users place in certified security products."

For quality assurance reasons, the ESSA has joined forces with leading European certification bodies for safes in the EFSG (European Fire and Security Group). The group ensures – among other things by reciprocal audits – a consistent quality level. Its members and their testing laboratories signed the "Multilateral Agreement on Safes and Strongrooms" which confirms that these testing laboratories have an equivalent type testing know-how. "All other certification bodies and testing laboratories may co-operate with the EFSG and may sign the Multilateral Agreement as well," says the ESSA. "A prerequisite is, however, that they satisfy our high requirements."

Background ESSA/ECB·S

The European Security Systems Association (ESSA) e.V. with headquarters in Frankfurt/Main is a neutral certification body in accordance with EN 45011. ECB·S is the "brand" of the ESSA. Pursuant to its guiding principle "Quality provides Security", the ESSA with its ECB·S certification mark guarantees maximum security properties to European standards. At present approx. 930 valid ECB·S certificates are in the global security market.

Is your safe really safe?

In 2009 BIROSAFE became a member of "ESSA - European Security Systems Association, Frankfurt/Main" (www.ecb-s.com).

In 2010 BIROSAFE has passed the security safes tests and gained the EUROPEAN SAFETY CERTIFICATE (EN1143-1), issued by the authorized European house “ECB-S – Germany”.

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