New safe room standard will save lives when tornados strike

When a series of violent tornados rolled through parts of Kentucky and several other states in April 1974 killing more than 300 people, injuring 5,500 and destroying millions of dollars of property, interior safe rooms, or storm shelters, didn't exist. Neither did Doppler radar nor many of the warning systems and modern technology used today for weather forecasting.

The International Code Council and the National Storm Shelter Association are working to create a new standard for the design and construction of community storm shelters and residential safe rooms. Working on the project are governmental members, design professionals, industry representatives, and academics. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is involved in the effort and supports it with funding. The project also is supported by numerous stakeholders and partners, including FLASH.

"The committee's work plan goal is to have the standard available by early 2006," said International Code Council Regional Manager John Payne. "I know that sounds like a long time, but the amount of research required to engineer a shelter that will truly be safe in a tornado is enormous. The committee, to its credit, wants to make sure they do the job right the first time."

When completed, the Storm Shelter Standard will provide design and construction regulations for community shelters and residential shelters. The level of wind resistance required for the shelters will be very high, based on rare storms. Dr. Ernst W. Kiesling of Texas Tech University is credited for first coming up with idea of interior safe rooms.

The International Code Council, a membership association dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states that adopt codes choose the International Codes developed by the International Code Council. The International Code Council is a FLASH partner.