As you research builders and installers of storm shelters, you may run across a couple of terms that can cause some confusion. Should you buy a storm shelter or a safe room? Or is there really any difference at all?

Simply put a safe room, as defined by FEMA standards, is a storm shelter. But a storm shelter may not be a safe room. Still confused? Here's how FEMA defines both in their Pub. 361 (Safe Rooms for Tornadoes and Hurricanes, March 2015).

"FEMA defines 'safe rooms' as buildings or portions thereof that comply with the criteria described in this publication {Pub. 361}. ICC 500 defines 'storm shelters' as buildings or portion thereof that comply with ICC 500.  Though similar, there are important differences. All safe room criteria in FEMA P-361 meet the storm shelter requirements of the ICC 500, but FEMA P-361 includes a few design and performance criteria that are more conservative than those in the ICC 500."

If a builder meets FEMA Pub. 361's more stringent engineering requirements, the shelter may be referred to as a "safe room", providing near-absolute protection for the occupants during tornadoes and hurricanes. If a builder meets the ICC 500 requirements, but falls short of FEMA Pub. 361 stipulations, the resulting shelter is not a safe room...it should be referred to as a storm shelter.

So, what's a Safe Shed? A safe room or a storm shelter? Good question. Although we refer to our shelters as tornado and/or storm shelters, we do meet the "safe room" engineering requirements of FEMA Pub. 361.

If a Safe Shed is a "safe room", why don't you call it a "safe room"? Another good question. We don't use the term "safe room" because the average consumer doesn't use that term. If we want to be found on the internet, and help people understand what we're selling, we've discovered that using the term "storm shelter" or "tornado shelter" does a better job. Folks don't go to Google and search for "safe rooms" when they're looking for a tornado shelter. People usually think the term "safe room" refers to a hardened room inside their home where they would hunker down if someone tried to break in, like Jodie Foster in the movie "Panic Room" or the family under attack in the movie "The Purge".

You can rest assured that a Safe Shed DOES meet the strict FEMA engineering requirements to provide near-absolute protection for you and your family. Whether you call it a tornado shelter, a storm shelter, or a safe room, if you're looking for protection against EF5 tornadoes, we've got you covered!

Yesterday evening we had the honor of speaking with a 2008 Safe Sheds customer from Sarasota, Florida. The severe storms and tornadoes that moved through central Florida came near the Garcia family, who sought safety in their tornado shelter. We were thrilled to hear that they didn't suffer any property loss and asked if they use their shelter frequently.

Mrs. Garcia says that her husband, having grown up in an area that didn't see much severe weather, is very cautious about storms and leads the family to their Safe Shed on a regular basis. Like so many other of our customers, the Garcia's bought their shelter to protect not only their children but also their family pets. And Mrs. Garcia says that, after over 5 years of ownership, they're as happy with their tornado shelter now as they were when the decided to purchase it.

It's a great feeling to know that what we do here in Southern Illinois provides a sense of security and very real protection for families across the U.S.  When the company was founded in 2002, it was with the idea that families everywhere deserved affordable storm protection. We still believe that, 14 years later, and never forget that our product must stand up to 250 mph winds and flying debris.

So, thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Garcia, for your business all those years ago. And thank you for referring your friends, neighbors, and co-workers to us, as well. We're glad you came through the January tornado unharmed!

Obviously, as members of the National Storm Shelter Association for a number of years, we feel there's a value, or we wouldn't continue to pay the annual fee and follow the NSSA membership rules. But what does it mean to you, the consumer?

To find the value you first have to understand what the organization does. The NSSA was formed over 15 years ago by engineers and shelter manufacturers who saw the need to develop standards for storm shelter construction. Before that time, there were no FEMA publications or ICC standards that told the public what was required of a storm shelter to make it safe and life saving. In fact, several years after NSSA adopted its first set of engineering and construction standards in May of 2000, the ICC and FEMA used those same standards to create the ICC 500 and FEMA 320/361 documents that exist today.

In order to be a producer member of the NSSA, Safe Sheds is required to submit our shelter design plans for review by third-party (non-associated) engineers who are experts in the field of wind engineering. We also have to submit our shelter and doors to advanced testing to ensure that they meet the exacting standards of the NSSA, FEMA, and the ICC. 

In addition, we assign each and every shelter we install an exclusive NSSA serial number and report that to the NSSA home office in Lubbock, Texas, so they can follow up with owners of shelters if they are in the path of a severe weather event. This follow-up isn't to verify that owners are safe but to add information about the storm, resulting damage, and survival rates to the large database of information they maintain. 

So, is our membership in the NSSA valuable to you, the end user of our tornado shelter product? Well, since there is no government agency who oversees or licenses manufacturers or builders of tornado shelters, our NSSA membership assures you that someone somewhere who knows a lot about tornado shelters is keeping an eye on us to make sure we're selling you a product that can save your life.

And we think that's pretty darn valuable after all. : )