Why are safe rooms used?
Reasons include: • to hide from burglars. The protection of a safe room will afford residents extra time to contact police; • to hide from would-be kidnappers. Many professional athletes, actors and politicians install safe rooms in their houses; • protection against natural disasters, such as tornadoes and hurricanes. Underground tornado bunkers are common in certain tornado-prone regions of the United States; • protection against a nuclear attack. While safe rooms near the blast may be incinerated, those far away may be shielded from radioactive fallout. This type of safe room, known as a fallout shelter, was more common during the Cold War than it is today; • to provide social distancing in the event of a serious disease outbreak; and • fear of an abusive spouse. InterNACHI’S Brief History of Safe Rooms Safe rooms can be traced back as far as the Middle Ages. Castles had a “castle keep,” a room located in the deepest part of the castle, which was designed so the feudal lord could hi
