Do Panic Rooms Provide Home Security?

Residential Security

There are many things you can do in order to make your home less attractive to intruders. The truth remains, however, that there are times when nothing you do will affect whether or not your home will be invaded. It could merely be a moment of chance and your home happened to be in the wrong place on the wrong night of the week. In moments like these, it often doesn’t matter whether anyone is home or not. The intruders are going to take what they want and do not care who is harmed in the process.

In larger homes that have a lot of ground to cover and many amenities to tempt invaders, one increasingly common safeguard is the installation of what is known as a panic room. These rooms are designed as a safe retreat within the home in which the family can meet and be protected from the intruders until help arrives. The idea of a panic room, while relatively new to the average household has been a common theme for homes of the wealthy and famous for quite a while. We are seeing more and more ‘normal’ homes in America that have these rooms installed however in recent years and the primary reason is the safeguarding of family members in a ‘worst case scenario’.

Unlike the recent movie “Panic Room” starring Jodie Foster, the average home panic room isn’t designed to hold off intruders for an indefinite amount of time but merely to delay them from harming the family until help could arrive. Phones are a necessity in these rooms or at the very least a cell phone that has a signal and can place outgoing calls is a necessity. Most panic rooms are very basic and not meant to hold a large number of people for more than a small amount of time. They are essentially safes that are built inside the home that can hold people (as well as some valuables though the purpose of the protection of life rather than property).

For those who are handy or in the process of designing their own homes, it is quite possible to incorporate a safe room within your home if you are willing to sacrifice some space in order to do so. The average low-tech version of a panic room does not require copious amounts of money or technical knowledge. You are not creating a fortress merely a safe place within your home where your family can hide in the event of an emergency intrusion.

Plans can be found online for those who can do the work of building a panic room themselves and should be closely followed. It is amazing the amount of protection and security that a room such as this can provide for your family. The peace of mind alone is well worth the investment in many cases.

If you incorporate a panic room into your home security plans then you should also take the time to make sure that it is stocked with essentials. Those essentials would be some sort of seating or cushioning, water, non-perishable snacks in case you need to be in the panic room for quite a while, and blankets. You should also make sure that a cell phone makes into the room along with family members.

Try to escape the home if possible. If escape is out of the question your panic room should be a safe alternative for the family. Make sure whenever possible that police are called immediately as they will do more to deter or limit the number of time invaders are willing to spend within the walls of your home. Remember to try to keep your calm despite the need to panic. The cooler you keep your mind in this situation the more likely you are to make it through the moment safely and, more importantly, keep your family safe.