What Is A Safe Room? What Are The Design Requirements For A FEMA Safe Room?

A safe room is a hardened structure specifically designed to meet FEMA criteria and provide life-safety protection in extreme wind events, including tornadoes and hurricanes. To be considered a FEMA safe room, the structure must be designed and constructed to the guidelines specified in FEMA P-361 – to which the drawings in FEMA P-320 were designed. A design professional can be consulted to verify that the safe room meets or exceeds the guidelines found in FEMA P-361. Additionally, all applicable Federal, State, and local codes must be followed. When questions arise pertaining to the differences between FEMA P-361 and conflicting codes or standards, the most conservative criteria should apply.