47.5 MB - The Whole Building Design Guide

Retrofitting a shelter space inside an existingbuilding can be very expensive. An economicalalternative is an addition that can function as fire and police stations, a designatedFor small shelters within facilities suchas a shelter as well as serve another purpose. storage room(s), office(s), or smallThis approach works well for smaller facilities. conference room(s) can be economicallyFor very large facilities, constructing two or retrofitted in accordance with FEMA 320more shelter additions should be considered to protect the occupants. Where it isin order to reduce the time it takes to reach desired to provide a large shelter area,the shelter (often there is ample warningFEMA 361 criteria are recommended.time, but sometimes an approaching tornadois not noticed until a few minutes before itstrikes). This is particularly important for hospitals and nursinghomes because of the difficulty of accommodating patients withdifferent medical needs.The recommendations given in Section 3.5 are summarized inTable 3-6.Table 3-6: Critical Facilities Located in Tornado-Prone RegionsProposed FacilityOccupant protectionRefer to FEMA 361 for design guidance.Interior non-load-bearing masonry walls See recommendations in Section 3.3.3.3.Wind-borne missilesHealthcare and other critical facilities where it is desiredto minimize disruption of operations from nearby weaktornadoesAvoid use of brick veneer, aggregate surfacing, roofpavers, slate, and tile.See recommendations in Section 3.5.Existing facilities without specifically designed tornado sheltersIf one or more F3-F5 tornadoes per 3,700 square milesIdentify best available refuge areas. See Figure 3-2 forhistorical data on frequency, and refer to FEMA 431(2003) for identification guidance.If six or more F3-F5 tornadoes per 3,700 square milesConsider incorporating a shelter within the building orinside a new building addition. Refer to FEMA 320 andFEMA 361 for design guidance.MAKING CRITICAL FACILITIES SAFE FROM High Wind3-131