![]() ![]() A Continuous Load Path is Key to a Residential Safe Room Design Critical components of a FEMA residential safe room are a strong continuous load path, and resistance to windborne debris, overturning, and uplift. The construction and design of a residential safe room must follow the guidelines described in FEMA P-320 and FEMA 361. A FEMA safe room provides the occupants of a home or small business near-total protection in severe weather events, including tornadoes. Building a Tornado Safe House with a FEMA Safe RoomĪ residential safe room is a solid space designed to meet FEMA specifications. Residential safe rooms designed to FEMA guidelines provide occupants of small businesses or homes the best safety against high winds and flying debris during a tornado event. The ICC-500 is the reference standard used by the IBC, IRC, and FEMA for the design and construction of safe rooms. However, the FEMA guidelines are considered more conservative than the IBC and IRC requirements.īuilders and architects of safe rooms can find the FEMA guidelines in FEMA P-320 (Taking Shelter from the Storm: Building a Safe Room for Your Home or Small Business) and FEMA P-361 (Safe Rooms for Tornadoes and Hurricanes: Guidance for Community and Residential Safe Rooms). FEMA also uses ICC-500 as a referenced standard for building safe rooms and storm shelters. Since 2009, the International Building Code ( IBC, Section 423) and the International Residential Code ( IRC, Section R323) have utilized the ICC-500 as their reference standard for building storm shelters. ICC-500 - The Referenced Standard for Building Safe Room Used by the IBC, IRC, and FEMA The 2014 ICC-500 is the current ICC/NSSA standard for construction and design of residential and community storm shelters. The ICC-500 is the International Code Council’s and the National Storm Shelter Association’s ( NSSA) standard (ICC/NSSA) for the construction and design of storm shelters (safe rooms). ICC-500 - The Standard for Design and Construction of Safe Rooms Untangling the Guidelines and Standards for Safe Room Design In fact, a report by Professor Kevin Simmons, an economist with Austin College and the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, found that safe rooms increase a home’s worth by about $4,200, or on average of 3.5 percent.ĭesigning and building a tornado shelter or safe room, as specified in FEMA P-361 and FEMA P-320, will create a tornado safe house that provides maximum protection to a home's occupants during a tornado emergency. Safe rooms are vital to the protection of a home’s occupants during a tornado event.Ī further advantage of a safe room is it increases a home’s value. The majority of tornado fatalities are located either in a mobile or permanent home. ![]() The impact of tornadoes is catastrophic and kills annually about 60 people, many from flying or falling debris. Tornado safe rooms are crucial in the United States (U.S.) where an average of 1253 tornadoes occur yearly, creating wind speeds up to 200 mph or more.
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