Safe Room Information on Home Services

Jan

Safe Room Information

posted by admin in Home Security

Safe rooms, sometimes referred to as panic rooms, are hideaways in your house

where you can quickly escape to if an intruder forces his way into the house. In

storm-ridden areas, safe rooms can also refer to rooms built with protection

from high winds in mind. For the purpose of this article, we will discuss safe

rooms from a security point of view.

When planning a safe room for your house, it is important to select a spot

not only that you can access quickly but that you can do so in a manner

that won’t alert the intruder. A good choice is to make the safe room

accessible from the master bedroom. Most burglars try to choose times when

you’re not at home to break in, but in lieu of that, night is the next

most popular time. Once inside, there should be a phone so you can call

the police. In addition to keeping a landline telephone inside, you should

keep a charged cell phone incase the intruder has cut the phone line. It’s

also a good idea to keep a first aid kit and fire extinguisher inside.

It is important that a safe room be constructed soundly incase an intruder

finds it and tries to force his way in. Some people choose to hide the

entrance behind a bookcase or some such in order to camouflage the

entrance, but it should still be very sturdy. A safe room should have a

solid metal-core door with a double cylinder deadlock that locks from the

insider as soon as you enter. (Store the key in the master bedroom so it’s

easily accessible to you in an emergency.) The safe room should be well-ventilated

incase you’re forced to remain inside for a while.

Source: The Personal Security Handbook