Personal Security Starts At Home - Do You Have A Safe Room In Case Of A Home Invasion?
Posted on October 9, 2008
Filed Under Personal Security, Protection Devices, Safe Room, Safety Plan of Action
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Part I - Does Your Home Security Defense Plan Include A Safe Room? Courtesy of Home Security 911
Do you have a plan of action so you know what to do in the event you are broken into while at home? I would venture to say that most people don’t! However, it is a good idea to have a Home Security Defense Plan that includes a Safe Room in case someone forcibly enters your home while you and your family are there. The general intent of a safe room is to provide short-term protection for the family members until the police arrive or the attackers leave your home.
It is a fact of life today that burglaries, home intrusions, home invasions, and kidnappings are happening at an alarming rate. We are all encouraged to have a Personal Plan of Action in case we are attacked on the street but we forget to have a well-thought out plan for some sort of attack in our home.
The very nature that someone would forcibly enter your home, especially while you and your family members are there, means the intruder is serious about burglarizing your home either for your possessions, valuables, money, or worse yet - kidnapping. The fact that you are there and could identify the intruder means there is a good chance you may be harmed or even killed.
Hopefully this situation will never happen to you, but in today’s violent crime ridden world my suggestion would be to take all necessary precautions to prevent it from ever happening to your family. Don’t become a victim of this type of crime. Be proactive in both your personal and home security plan of action.
To begin with take a look at your home for vulnerable places that a burglar or intruder might try entering. If you think like a burglar, there’s a good chance you will see areas that you might have dismissed in the past as being secure, but now realize it could be easily accessed by a burglar. Areas like doors, windows, locks, lighting, and shrubbery should be the main areas to consider reinforcing. Update old locks with newer more durable locks that can give your door(s) the extra strength needed to endure a burglar’s kick or shoulder to bust it in.
Your Home Security Defense Plan should include setting up a safe room, a defensive core area of your home and most likely the safest place for you and other family members to meet during a break-in or home invasion. It is vital that you plan ahead of time what you and other family members will do in this situation. If a break-in occurs while you and your family are home try to remain calm and retreat to your safe room, lock the door, and call the police for help.
The room you select may be the main bedroom in your home. (Or it could be a main bathroom or closet location). Whatever location you decide, check the doors to this room for strength and ability to withstand a major kick to bust open. These doors, like your main entry door, should be solid hardwood or metal doors and have it hung so that it opens outward. Replace the wooden doorjamb with a steel one or reinforce the door trim with steel angle iron to prevent the door from being kicked open. On wood door jams, install three-inch screws in the door hinges and in the heavy-duty, four-screw, lock strike plates that cut deep into the doorframe studs. The interior doors in most homes are flimsy, hollow-core wood doors so you will most likely need to upgrade these doors. You will also want to install quality deadbolt locks on the doors to your safe room.
If you have young children, infants or toddlers you may want to make their room the safe room. It will be easier for you or other adults to retreat to the children’s room rather than to get the children out of their room and into yours. You should follow the same instructions on their doors if you select your child’s room as the safe room.
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8 Responses to “Personal Security Starts At Home - Do You Have A Safe Room In Case Of A Home Invasion?”
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Thanks for the article. I think it’s great you point out the need to plan for emergency situations. I think far too many people don’t see the need to do so and put their families and homes at risk. Working with an experienced home security consultant can help simplify the process of designing a plan and installing the right security system.
Pamela - Thanks for commenting. And yes working with a professional security consultant in designing a complete home security system that covers the homeowners’ major concerns for security and safety is the best option.
I did that for 20 years and know there are many inexperienced consultants out there giving the wrong information. Thanks again.
Take care,
Cheryl
Take care,
I am especially interested in home security. My business was created after my memories of a good friend who pulled an all nighter at the hospital
She was going home to get a couples hours sleep, then on to meet friends for a late lunch, only to walk in on a burglar in her bedroom. He violently stabbed her to death.
That was before cell phones. The new device by MACE is a wireless, motion detector that will call up to 5 phone numbers you program, so you don’t walk in on an intruder. It won’t bring back my friend but these devices are worth their weight in gold.
I’s also consider an alarm or a window alarm for your young kid’s rooms too, just adds more security during the night and hopefully will prevent an intruder from harming or taking them.
Hi Keith:
Thanks for commenting. I am so sorry to hear of the death of your friend. I think everyone should have a security system - for safety, for security, for peace of mind. For 22 years I have had a security system. I love my security system, it’s like a friend. I know when I walk into my home it’s a safe house. If someone breaks into my home, the polce are alerted immediately.
I was a security alarm consultant for 20 years and believe me I would NEVER live in a home without a security system. I wish all homeowners had a security system, especially women who live alone. The cost is so minimal compared to the alternative. If I am asleep and a breakin occurs, look out dude because either a gun, a Taser or Rocky (the daschund)is going after you.
I also sell non-lethal devices and think those are excellent options, but I teach self-defense, security awareness classes, plus I now teach a Home Security 101 Workshop. It teaches homeowners about everything from home invasions, home burglaries, to common sense things you can do to protect your home & family, plus we design your home security system.
I think everyone should consider a security system for their home and family…cost is minimal but the peace is mind is worth a million.
Check out my home security workshop and home protection at my personal security site: www.personalsecuritysolutions.com/blog
Keep in touch because we all have great info to share to others. Thanks again.
Cheryl
[…] core door with reinforced frames. You may want to have your master bedroom become your "Safe Room" as you wait for the police to […]
[…] core door with reinforced frames. You may want to have your master bedroom become your "Safe Room" as you wait for the police to […]
[…] core door with reinforced frames. You may want to have your master bedroom become your "Safe Room" as you wait for the police to […]
[…] up a Safe Room in your home - either the master bedroom area or if you have children, possibly their […]