Escape to a Panic Room

A panic room, a room in your house that is outfitted with reinforced walls and insulation and features sturdy metal doors that lock tight, acts as a vault for people.  Inside, you can keep comfort and survival items like cots, canned goods, water, a cell phone, and a radio.

Keeping Safe

Arizona couple Ed and Patti Warner feel safe in their 3 million dollar, 10,000 square foot secluded home because they have a 4 foot by 6 foot fireproof panic room tucked under their staircase.  “If you go in there and shut the door, nobody can get to you – nobody. You could take your cell phone and call the police – it would be safer than running outside,” says Patti. 

Think it sounds a little paranoid?  Not to the millions of American families who are building additions or retrofitting their homes to include a panic room.  The price of safety and peace of mind can range from around $3,000 to over $1 million.  But no matter the price, the purpose of the panic room is the same:  to protect you in an emergency.

The idea of a panic room became more popular nationwide after the terror of 9/11 and the release of the Jodie Foster movie Panic Room, in which Foster and her character’s daughter are sequestered in their home’s panic room when their house is invaded.  The idea of a safe haven in the home took off with worried Americans who feel more and more threatened in this modern society.

“Business spiked a little way up after Sept. 11, and it’s mellowing out a little now, but this is an industry where demand goes up every year,” says Bill Rigdon, vice president of construction for Los Angeles’ Building Consensus, which designs and builds panic rooms for wealthy clients ranging from movie stars to CEOs. “Since 1995, there’s really been an uprising for these rooms – people don’t even feel safe in their own homes.”

When Do You Use a Panic Room?

There are multiple scenarios in which a panic room can save lives.

1. Home Invasion:  If intruders invade your home, you can immediately retreat to the panic room and remain out of harm’s way until the police arrive.
2. Hurricane:  A panic room’s reinforced walls make it the room in your house most likely to survive a major storm.  As long as your home is not threatened by the deadly storm surge, you can ride out a hurricane in your panic room until it clears.
3. Tornado:  Hurricanes are predictable and you have plenty of time to prepare, but tornados put the “panic” in the term “panic room.”  In the event of a tornado, you may have only seconds to seek shelter, and an easily accessible panic room at the center of your home could literally save your life.  You can stay safe there until danger passes.  The rest of your house may crumble, but a panic room is designed specifically to withstand disaster.

Yesterday’s Fallout Shelters

Today’s panic rooms are yesterday’s fallout shelters.  Both reflect the fears of their time: nuclear war and modern terrorism in all its forms.  But today’s panic rooms are a little more high tech than their cousins of yesteryear.

Available Features of a Panic Room

1. Dummy electrical wires (So the intruder thinks he’s cutting the power, but he’s not.)
2. Steel-reinforced walls that deflect armor-piercing bullets.
3. External ventilation systems.
4. A separate phone line.
5. Bathroom facilities.
6. Security cameras
7. Shielding from nuclear rays.

 A panic room can be anything you dream it to be.  It can be as complex as a multi-room bunker or something as simple as an extra-sturdy walk-in closet stocked with a few days’ survival supplies.  All panic rooms offer the same basic benefit:  safety and peace of mind in an emergency situation.  Everyone wants to know they have a place where they can be safe.  Do you?

“People are transformed when they go into one of these rooms or areas,” says Al V. Corbi, president of The Designer, which designs high-end residences.  “It’s like you can see them exhale for the first time in years.  We’re always on our guard, even driving to work.  A safe core is the only place where you can really let down your guard.”

© Ralph for Security World News, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: emergency situation, Home Invasion, Intruders, Panic Room

Security solutions will help anyone put obstacles in a burglar’s way. Plus, it will give you much needed peace of mind knowing that your home is as secure as it can be for your family’s protection. There are so many different security solutions that you need to learn and implement.

One important thing to remember is that having good security doesn’t mean that you have to break the bank to achieve it. Instead, there are some very simple solutions that you can do that won’t cost you anything, but are still very effective security. One good way to learn about solutions that you can use it to read news stories because they are full of information and will provide a lot of information that you can easily implement right away.

There was a news story done about how it is important to ensure you have good home security, no matter what the expense is. This news story can be found at, http://tinyurl.com/py743k. In this news story, they provide some simple solutions that anyone can do to be sure your security at home is the best it can be.

Here are some of the more important security solutions that they provide for anyone, even if you can’t afford a lot for security.

1. “Trim shrubs back from doors and walkways.”

2. “Plant thorny shrubs beneath windows.”

3. “Promptly change burned out outdoor lights.”

4. “Hide valuables.”

5. “Keep tree branches trimmed back from windows and the roof.”

These are all very simple solutions for security that won’t cost a lot of money. You want to remember that good security at home is not always about spending money on a security system, though it is a good idea to have one; instead, it is about doing what you can to secure your home.

The more home security steps you have taken, the harder it will be for a burglar to get into your home. Burglars don’t like to work for what they want to steal. By putting home security obstacles in their way, you will be letting them know that if they want your things, they will have to work to get it. This is usually enough to scare of most burglars.

Don’t take chances with your family’s safety when they are at home; instead, make sure now that you have the best security possible. Learn and implement as many home security solutions as you can now. That way you will know that your home is secure and that your family is as safe as they can be at home.

© Ralph for Security World News, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Intruders, Security Solutions