Panic Room / Safe Room

Panic Rooms, more commonly called Safe Rooms, as recently featured in the film starring Jodi Foster, are increasingly being installed in homes, offices or any other building where people may be at risk from the threat of kidnap and / or violence.

Safe Rooms are, of course, not a new idea and almost any home or office can have a room cost effectively converted in to a 'Safe Room'. Obviously the cost involved will depend on the level of risk and security required, however a fairly secure environment, able to deter and delay access for a significant period of time, can often be achieved at a remarkable low cost.

Applications

Safe Rooms are often associated with politicians, celebrities, industrialists or other high risk personalities but more and more 'ordinary' people today are realising the value of installing a Safe or Panic Room into their home or place of work.

Generally Safe Rooms will be purpose made to suit the property, the environment and the likely risk involved. If the property is new or undergoing substantial alteration then the Safe Room can be designed for optimum performance and the surrounding areas designed to accommodate it. More often than not however the room will be required to be incorporated into an existing property and so greater care and attention to design will be required.

Firstly however we will need to assess the likely risk and requirements for example.

Q. Is the purpose to protect against Terrorist Attack, Assassination, Kidnap, Intrusion or Domestic Violence etc.?

This will determine the level of protection involved - Obviously if the threat is terrorist attack or assassination, then the level of protection involved will be considerably greater than that afforded if the risk is simple intrusion or domestic violence.

Q. What type of attack is the room to protect against?

This will help determine the type of construction. For example, is the room to protect against physical attack, bullets, explosion, falling debris, gas attack and fire etc. and could an attack be launched on the room from above or below as well as from the perimeter walls and doors.

Q. How remote is the location of the premises and how quickly could outside help arrive?

This will determine how long the room should give protection for against an assault e.g. a few hours, a day, a week or longer. It will also determine the level of supplies and survival equipment that is needed, and also what toilet and washing facilities (if any) are required. For long durations cooking facilities will also need to be considered.

Q. How many persons are to be catered for?

This will determine the size of the facility and level of supplies etc. Consideration here should include the possibility of a terrorist strike happening during the time of a dinner party for example.

Q. Is disabled access required?

This will determine the layout of the room and means of access and escape.

Q. What sort of property is involved?

This will determine where in the building to site the Safe Room and the style of construction. The main criteria being that the safety of the room can be reached as quickly as possible and the location affords adequate protection. In a multistory or large building (e.g. a country manor, a castle or a corporate headquarters) it may be necessary to have more than one Safe Room in different areas of the building or on different floors. It may also be sensible to have more than one entry into the Safe Room in order to allow quick entry from various rooms or areas within the building.

The client may also require the Safe Room to be inconspicuous or concealed and it is perfectly possible to create a very secure Safe Room from what, on the surface, would seem to be an ordinary room. This may be particularly important in historic houses etc.

Once the likely risks and requirements have been assessed and evaluated there will be a number of other issues that will also need consideration to suit the individual situation such as:

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