Panic room
Encyclopedia
A safe room or panic room is a fortified room which is installed in a private residence or business to provide a safe shelter, or hiding place, for the inhabitants in the event of a break-in, home invasion
, tornado, or other threat. Safe rooms usually contain communications equipment
, so that law enforcement authorities can be contacted. A safe haven, by contrast, can be any strong area of a building, such as a stairwell reinforced by the stair structure.
and longer hinge screws and strike-plate screws to resist battering. Sometimes, the ceiling is reinforced, or gated, to prevent easy access from the attic or from an overhead crawl space.
More expensive safe rooms, such as those constructed for celebrities and executives, have walls and a door reinforced with sheets of steel
, Kevlar
, or bullet-resistant fibreglass. The hinges and strike plate are often reinforced with long screws. Some safe rooms may also have externally-vented ventilation
systems and a separate telephone connection. They might also connect to an escape shaft.
Safe rooms in the basement can be built with concrete
walls, a building technique that is normally not possible on the upper floors of wood-framed structures unless there is substantial structural reinforcement to the building.
U.S. State Department often uses steel grillwork much like a jail to seal off parts of a home used by U.S. Foreign Service members overseas when they are living in cities with a high crime threat. In some cities the entire upstairs area is grilled off as well as every window and door to the home. Other homes have steel doors to one or more bedrooms that can be bolted closed to provide time for security forces to arrive.
For strong storms or tornadoes, a storm safe room must be built to withstand high winds and flying debris, even if the rest of the residence becomes severely damaged or destroyed; specific concerns:
transceiver, so that law enforcement authorities can be contacted. There may also be a monitor for external security cameras
and an alarm system. In basic safe rooms, a peephole
in the door may be used for a similar purpose. Safe rooms are typically stocked with basic emergency and survival items such as a flashlight, blankets, a first-aid kit, water, packaged food, self-defence tools, firearms, a gas mask, and a simple portable toilet.
. When attacked, the crew can retreat into the safe room and call for help (which, in the case of some countries, may include the intervention of special forces
). Because of the nature of ship construction, the safe room is typically constructed in a concealed location within a void within the ship, to resist efforts by the pirates to find the crew before help arrives. Facilities sometimes exist to allow the crew to remotely disable the ship's engines and electronic systems, making it impossible for the pirates to sail the ship to a location they control. The safe room is also typically armoured against direct physical attack, to allow the crew to remain safe for a few hours, even if located by the pirates, and to allow rescuing forces full scope for the use of armed force to re-take the ship without risk to the crew.
The effect of the safe room is thus to deny the pirates access to the crew for hostage-taking, to remove the capability to move the ship to a location where the ship's cargo can be offloaded, as well as to make it easy for the ship to be retaken by armed forces without risk to the crew. The retreat of the crew to a safe room could encourage the pirates to leave the ship peacefully, removing the need for armed attack.
Citadels have been used as a defensive measure in ships that are threatened by piracy in Somalia
. Thus in 2010, while 4,185 seafarers had been attacked and 1,090 taken hostage, 342 survived an attack in a citadel.
cartoonist Kurt Westergaard
from an Islamic fundamentalist
attacker who wanted to kill him for having drawn a controversial cartoon of Muhammad
in 2005 (see Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
). The secure room prevented Westergaard from being reached by the axe-wielding intruder, who was shot and incapacitated while resisting arrest when police arrived.
On 6 May 2010 Russian commandos from the destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov rescued the hijacked tanker Moscow University, while the crew hid in the engine room.
During a demonstration on 9 September 2011, the Israeli embassy in Cairo was forcefully entered by Egyptian protesters who proceeded to ransack and loot the embassy. During the attack, the eight-person Israeli diplomatic staff was kept safe and separated from the rioters by the steel door of the safe room in which they had taken refuge. They were later rescue by Egyptian commandos and flown out of Egypt with their families.
, hurricane, or nuclear
event.
A safe room can be quite elaborate or as simple as a corner of the basement. An effective safe room can be constructed from two concrete corner walls, two other sturdy walls, and a stout ceiling, preferably thick reinforced concrete like the other basement walls. A stout door, secondary exit, and good ventilation are necessary. A room like this could alternatively be used as a storage room for things like wine or records. In a new construction, a room like this can be built quite inexpensively. It can be stocked with as many or as few supplies as the homeowner deems necessary.
For hurricanes, a safe room is relatively rare, due to the preference to evacuate the area. Also, a hurricane safe room is likely to be elevated to resist flooding and still allow entry/access during a flood tide. In some areas, hurricane emergency command centers are elevated beyond 30 feet (9.1 m), above sea level, to survive a large storm surge
.
Home invasion
Home invasion is the act of illegally burgling or entering a private and occupied dwelling for the purpose of committing a crime Home invasion is the act of illegally burgling or entering a private and occupied dwelling for the purpose of committing a crime Home invasion is the act of illegally...
, tornado, or other threat. Safe rooms usually contain communications equipment
Data circuit-terminating equipment
A data circuit-terminating equipment is a device that sits between the data terminal equipment and a data transmission circuit. It is also called data communications equipment and data carrier equipment...
, so that law enforcement authorities can be contacted. A safe haven, by contrast, can be any strong area of a building, such as a stairwell reinforced by the stair structure.
Construction techniques
The simplest safe room is simply a closet with the hollow-core door replaced with an exterior-grade solid-core door that has a deadboltDeadbolt
A dead bolt or dead lock , is a locking mechanism distinct from a spring bolt lock because a deadbolt cannot be moved to the open position except by rotating the lock cylinder. The more common spring bolt lock uses a spring to hold the bolt in place, allowing retraction by applying force to the...
and longer hinge screws and strike-plate screws to resist battering. Sometimes, the ceiling is reinforced, or gated, to prevent easy access from the attic or from an overhead crawl space.
More expensive safe rooms, such as those constructed for celebrities and executives, have walls and a door reinforced with sheets of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, Kevlar
Kevlar
Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed at DuPont in 1965, this high strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...
, or bullet-resistant fibreglass. The hinges and strike plate are often reinforced with long screws. Some safe rooms may also have externally-vented ventilation
Ventilation (architecture)
Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to provide high indoor air quality...
systems and a separate telephone connection. They might also connect to an escape shaft.
Safe rooms in the basement can be built with concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
walls, a building technique that is normally not possible on the upper floors of wood-framed structures unless there is substantial structural reinforcement to the building.
U.S. State Department often uses steel grillwork much like a jail to seal off parts of a home used by U.S. Foreign Service members overseas when they are living in cities with a high crime threat. In some cities the entire upstairs area is grilled off as well as every window and door to the home. Other homes have steel doors to one or more bedrooms that can be bolted closed to provide time for security forces to arrive.
For strong storms or tornadoes, a storm safe room must be built to withstand high winds and flying debris, even if the rest of the residence becomes severely damaged or destroyed; specific concerns:
- The safe room should be adequately anchored to the foundation to resist overturning and uplift.
- The walls, ceiling, and door of the shelter should withstand wind pressure and resist penetration by windborne objects or falling debris.
- The connections between all parts of the safe room should be strong enough to resist separation by wind.
- Sections of either interior or exterior residence walls which are used as walls of the safe room, should be separated from the structure of the residence so that damage to the residence will not cause damage to the safe room.
Features
Safe rooms may contain communications equipment, such as a cellular telephone, land-line telephone or an amateur radioAmateur radio
Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
transceiver, so that law enforcement authorities can be contacted. There may also be a monitor for external security cameras
Closed-circuit television
Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
and an alarm system. In basic safe rooms, a peephole
Peephole
A peephole is a small opening through which one may look.In a door, a peephole allows people inside the security of seeing outside without opening the door...
in the door may be used for a similar purpose. Safe rooms are typically stocked with basic emergency and survival items such as a flashlight, blankets, a first-aid kit, water, packaged food, self-defence tools, firearms, a gas mask, and a simple portable toilet.
Citadel: a safe room on ships
Safe rooms on ships, known as "citadels", are increasingly being installed as a countermeasure against piracyPiracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
. When attacked, the crew can retreat into the safe room and call for help (which, in the case of some countries, may include the intervention of special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
). Because of the nature of ship construction, the safe room is typically constructed in a concealed location within a void within the ship, to resist efforts by the pirates to find the crew before help arrives. Facilities sometimes exist to allow the crew to remotely disable the ship's engines and electronic systems, making it impossible for the pirates to sail the ship to a location they control. The safe room is also typically armoured against direct physical attack, to allow the crew to remain safe for a few hours, even if located by the pirates, and to allow rescuing forces full scope for the use of armed force to re-take the ship without risk to the crew.
The effect of the safe room is thus to deny the pirates access to the crew for hostage-taking, to remove the capability to move the ship to a location where the ship's cargo can be offloaded, as well as to make it easy for the ship to be retaken by armed forces without risk to the crew. The retreat of the crew to a safe room could encourage the pirates to leave the ship peacefully, removing the need for armed attack.
Citadels have been used as a defensive measure in ships that are threatened by piracy in Somalia
Piracy in Somalia
Piracy off the coast of Somalia has been a threat to international shipping since the second phase of the Somali Civil War in the early 21st century...
. Thus in 2010, while 4,185 seafarers had been attacked and 1,090 taken hostage, 342 survived an attack in a citadel.
Notable uses
On 1 January 2010, a panic room was instrumental in saving DanishDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
cartoonist Kurt Westergaard
Kurt Westergaard
Kurt Westergaard is a Danish cartoonist who created the controversial cartoon of the Islamic prophet Muhammad wearing a bomb in his turban. This cartoon was the most contentious of the 12 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons, which met with strong and sometimes violent reactions from Muslims worldwide...
from an Islamic fundamentalist
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
attacker who wanted to kill him for having drawn a controversial cartoon of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
in 2005 (see Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy
The Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy began after 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on 30 September 2005...
). The secure room prevented Westergaard from being reached by the axe-wielding intruder, who was shot and incapacitated while resisting arrest when police arrived.
On 6 May 2010 Russian commandos from the destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov rescued the hijacked tanker Moscow University, while the crew hid in the engine room.
During a demonstration on 9 September 2011, the Israeli embassy in Cairo was forcefully entered by Egyptian protesters who proceeded to ransack and loot the embassy. During the attack, the eight-person Israeli diplomatic staff was kept safe and separated from the rioters by the steel door of the safe room in which they had taken refuge. They were later rescue by Egyptian commandos and flown out of Egypt with their families.
Other meanings
The term "safe room" is also commonly used to describe a fortified basement room used as a refuge in the event of a tornadoTornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
, hurricane, or nuclear
Nuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...
event.
A safe room can be quite elaborate or as simple as a corner of the basement. An effective safe room can be constructed from two concrete corner walls, two other sturdy walls, and a stout ceiling, preferably thick reinforced concrete like the other basement walls. A stout door, secondary exit, and good ventilation are necessary. A room like this could alternatively be used as a storage room for things like wine or records. In a new construction, a room like this can be built quite inexpensively. It can be stocked with as many or as few supplies as the homeowner deems necessary.
For hurricanes, a safe room is relatively rare, due to the preference to evacuate the area. Also, a hurricane safe room is likely to be elevated to resist flooding and still allow entry/access during a flood tide. In some areas, hurricane emergency command centers are elevated beyond 30 feet (9.1 m), above sea level, to survive a large storm surge
Storm surge
A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...
.
See also
- Bomb shelterBomb shelterA bomb shelter is any kind of a civil defense structure designed to provide protection against the effects of a bomb.-Types of shelter:Different kinds of bomb shelters are configured to protect against different kinds of attack and strengths of hostile explosives. For example, an Air-raid shelter...
- Blast shelterBlast shelterA blast shelter is a place where people can go to protect themselves from bomb blasts. It differs from a fallout shelter, in that its main purpose is to protect from shock waves and overpressure, instead of from radioactive precipitation, as a fallout shelter does...
- Fallout shelterFallout shelterA fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War....
- Panic Room (film)
- Retreat (survivalism)Retreat (survivalism)A retreat is a place of refuge for those in the survivalist subculture or movement. Retreats are also sometimes called Bug-Out Locations...
- Storm cellarStorm cellarA storm shelter or storm cellar is a type of underground bunker designed to protect the occupants from violent severe weather, particularly tornadoes...
Further reading
- The Secure Home, Joel Skousen, Swift Learning Resources; 3rd ed, 1999 (ISBN 1-56861-055-6)