Why is the term “safe room” being used instead of “shelter”?
The terms “safe room” and “shelter” have been used, for the most part, interchangeably in past publications. Typically the difference in usage was limited to differentiating between residential applications called “safe rooms” and larger projects called “community shelters.” The release of the ICC-500 standard, as well as other national, state, and local protection initiatives, identified a need to distinguish shelters that meet the FEMA criteria for near-absolute protection and those that do not. Although both the FEMA and ICC criteria are designed to ensure life-safety protection for safe rooms and shelters that meet these criteria, only the FEMA criteria provides near-absolute protection from extreme wind events. To help clarify the difference between safe rooms design in FEMA 320 and 361 guidance, the term “safe room” applies to all shelters, buildings, or spaces designed to the FEMA criteria (whether for individuals, residences, small businesses, schools, or communities). This all
