The simple answer to this question is, yes, you need a safe room. No matter how large or small your home is, it should include a space where you can escape danger and lock yourself inside while waiting for help. As you expand your home security plans, please remember to create a safe room just in case a burglar breaks in while you are at home.
How Might You Survive Without a Safe Room?
Regularly, we hear news reports of intruders breaking into a home while a resident is inside. These events can happen during the middle of the night or in broad daylight. A number of these incidents have even involved children who’ve been home alone when criminals have entered.
While some cases have involved deliberate home invasions, it is common for burglars to assume that a house is empty only to find out that someone is, in fact, at home. Sometimes they are armed, sometimes they aren’t, but incidents like these are always frightening and unpredictable. Sure, you may be able to fight an intruder off, but what if there is more than one? What if they are armed? What if you’re not home, but your children are left alone to fend for themselves? Trust me when I say that a safe room is a crucial element in your overall home security and one that you shouldn’t be too keen to overlook.
I remember once watching a documentary about drug addiction where it was made clear that someone high on methamphetamine might enter a home– by any means necessary and at any time of day or night– and walk right past a homeowner inside to look for something to steal. I mean walk in like a robot on a mission and seemingly oblivious to the fact that doing so is a crime. Whether this is true or an exaggeration, the fact is that a number of occupied homes are targeted for break-ins by crazed people under the influence of who knows what, so a safe room is an absolute home security necessity.
Creating a Safe Room Doesn’t Require an Elaborate Construction
There’s no need to call a contractor to build an additional room, either. A bathroom, closet or spare bedroom can easily be converted into a safe room with precise planning. I’ll give a detailed list in the next day or so to help you get started planning one, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, look around your home and find a secure space where you think you may be able to create safe room inside your house or apartment.
Note, also, that when I speak of a safe room, I’m not talking about a full on panic room, either. There’s a bit of distinction here, if you will. While your space will require a certain amount of electronic security and sturdy materials, it doesn’t have to be as extravagant as having metal walls, high-tech security features or be strong enough to survive a nuclear attack…although that much security certainly won’t hurt if you can afford the construction costs. Simply, a safe room should be thought of as a place where you can hide behind a barrier sturdy enough to keep an average burglar out until help arrives.
Your Thoughts About a Safe Room
Do you have a safe room inside your home? Have you been in a home that has one? What kinds of questions do you have about safe rooms? Let us know in the comments section below.
