Safe room
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A panic room or safe room is a fortified room which is installed in a private residence or business to provide a safe hiding place for the inhabitants in the event of a break-in, home invasion, or other threat. Safe rooms contain communications equipment, so that law enforcement authorities can be contacted.
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[edit] 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 deadbolt and longer hinge and lock plate screws.
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 fiberglass. The hinges and strike plate are often reinforced with long screws. Some safe rooms may also have externally-vented ventilation systems and a separate phone line.
Safe rooms in the basement can be built with concrete walls, a building technique that is normally not possible on the upper floors unless there is substantial structural reinforcement to the building.
[edit] Features
Safe rooms may contain communications equipment, such as a cellular telephone, land-line telephone or an amateur radio 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-defense tools, a gas mask, and a simple portable toilet.
[edit] 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 tornado, 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 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.
[edit] Panic Room
In the DVD audio commentary for the film Panic Room, screenwriter David Koepp says the idea for the film originated from a New York Times article;[1] in the article and his other research sources the rooms were always referred to as a "safe room", which was the original title of his screenplay. Realizing it didn't sound engaging enough to be a thriller, he changed the title and all references in the screenplay to "panic room".
[edit] Further reading
The Secure Home, Joel Skousen, Swift Learning Resources; 3rd ed, 1999 (ISBN 1-56861-055-6)
