Panic room

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the movie, see Panic Room (film).

A panic room (also called "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. Panic rooms contain communications equipment, so that law enforcement authorities can be contacted.

1 Construction techniques
2 Features
3 Other meanings
4 Further reading
5 See also

[edit] Construction techniques

The simplest panic 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 panic 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 panic rooms may also have externally-vented ventilation systems and a separate phone line.

Panic 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

Panic rooms contain communications equipment such as a cellular phone or land-line phone, so that law enforcement authorities can be contacted. There may also be a monitor for external security cameras and an alarm system. Panic 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 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 makes excellent "cool, dry and dark storage" 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 much or as few supplies as the homeowner deems necessary.