FEMA 453 Design Guidance for Shelters and Safe Rooms

interior room is preferable to a room with exterior walls, if it
meets criteria for size, tightness, and accessibility. For a low-rise
building, there is no substantial advantage in a room on the
higher floors, and a location should not be selected based on
height above ground level if it increases the time required to
reach the shelter in an emergency.
m Water and toilets. Drinking water and a toilet(s) should be
available to occupants of a safe room. This may involve the use
of canned/bottled water and portable toilets. Toilet fixture
allowance is presented in FEMA 361.
m Communications. For sheltering situations initiated by local
authorities, the safe room must contain a radio with which
to receive emergency instructions for the termination of
sheltering. A telephone or cell phone can be used to receive
emergency instructions and to communicate with emergency
management agencies. Electrical power and lighting are also
required.
3.4 DeSiGn anD inSTaLLaTion oF a ToXiCaGenT
SaFe RooM
After the room or location for the safe room has been decided
based on the criteria listed above, the first design decision is to determine
the class of safe room. Design details for the three classes
of safe rooms are presented below. A Class 3 Safe Room is the
simplest in that it requires only a tight enclosure. It is presented
first because the requirements of the tight enclosure are common
to all three classes. The unventilated Class 2 Safe Room, which
involves the simplest application of a filter unit, is presented next,
and the Class 1 Safe Room, which involves a more complex application
of a filter unit, is presented last.
CBR ThReaT pRoTeCTion
3-