Security Products:
Safe Room

Security Products will likely serve you well (but CANNOT be guaranteed to prevent any crime) if used with the guidance in Home Security - Overview.

Safe rooms, anywhere from basic to elaborate, are among the most comforting of security products - your own fortified sanctuary.

Safe Room

As Anna returned home and unlocked her door, a man suddenly appeared behind her, put a knife to her throat, and shoved her inside. Once inside, he spun around to lock the door behind them. In that instant, Anna ran to her bedroom while overturning furniture in her wake to slow his pursuit. ... Deadbolting the fortified door behind her, she pushed a panic button, setting off an outdoor siren. He fled. Anna was safe in her fortified bedroom. See Alarms

Awakened one night by the sounds of burglars downstairs, Betty was trapped, but prepared. She quickly deadbolted her fortified bedroom door and, though she was alone and had no gun, yelled, “Jack! Grab your gun!” ... She pushed a panic button setting off an outdoor strobe light and siren, then called the police on the cell phone always kept on her nightstand, which also held her pepper spray. Betty was quite safe in her ”safe room.”

Sure, fortified windows and doors along with simple home electronics (see all below) probably would have prevented the burglary altogether, but Betty’s safe room served her well. In any event, it can serve as the ultimate shelter.

To Create a Safe Room
The master bedroom is usually a good choice. Fortify your door as described in Door Reinforcement, and get an Alarm.

Keep a knotted rope for escaping through a window. Keep a flashlight, a cell phone (it can’t be disabled from outside), and a weapon or pepper spray. Reinforce any windows (see below). At the very least, even one family member barricaded inside long enough to call the police can save lives.

[Using the bedroom itself as a safe room may be a poor choice for escaping domestic violence because both the victim and abuser may already be in the bedroom when the violence begins. A better choice for a battering victim might be a safe closet (either within the bedroom or elsewhere in the home).]

Safe Closet
A reinforced closet might be the best choice. It can store valuables or protect you from danger. Use a double-cylinder deadbolt lock and hang one key inside the closet to quickly lock yourself in. You might want to line the walls with bulletproof Kevlar.

A Hidden Room can double as a Safe Room

One popular trick is to hide a room behind a bookcase that looks like a standard built-in but is equipped with hidden hinges, rollers and handles. A secret-door maker said that his customers are evenly split between those who plan to use their hidden rooms for security (either to hide valuables or to hide themselves in an emergency) and those who just think they are “really cool.”
Excerpted from The New York Times – 05 October 2006

Here are two sites with a major WOW! factor. They build to your specs and ship to you, then your local journeyman carpenter installs your secret doorway:
• www.Hide-a-Door.com. Prices start at US$1,100. They also have "Sneaky Cans" for less than US$20.
• HiddenPassageway.com. Prices range from US$5,000 to $30,000+ for the high-end market.

Now comes the hard part: you must be very discrete about not revealing your safe room, safe closet, or hidden room to anyone who doesn't need to know. Secrets always leak, and it'll no longer be as effective. Can you resist the temptation to show off?

Small Safes and Hiding Spots
A safe for storing valuables may be freestanding, wall-mounted, or floor-mounted (in a concrete floor). Other hidden caches may be hollowed spaces within doors, walls, furniture, books, curtain rods, and so on.

A safe is most effective when you are not at home. These days, more and more criminals prefer to invade when you're there – to force you to reveal hidden caches or a safe's location and combination – and gain access to your wallet, car keys, and you. They know the home itself helps hide their crime and your screams.

Home invasions are the most preventable of all crimes if you always follow the guidance in Home Security - Overview and also fortify your home with the security products listed below.

Security Products: Home Security Hardware, Burglar Alarm Equipment, and Personal Safety Devices

HOME SECURITY - HOUSE ALARM

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