Shutting the door on the storm

A Safe Sheds storm shelter door is made of 3/16" hot rolled steel that's reinforced in multiple places.

Left swing or right swing. Opening inward or opening outward. One handle operating three locks or three separate locks.

Those are all options for storm shelter doors. But something that's not optional is having a tested door on your storm shelter if you want to protect yourself and your family.

Having an untested door that isn't designed specifically for use on tornado shelters makes the entire shelter unsafe. There have been several instances of storm shelter doors failing, leaving occupants vulnerable to flying debris, causing injuries, and, in a few terrible cases, dead.

This is the pickup that struck the Safe Shed storm shelter door in April of 2014.

It's a common myth that a steel "storm door" with three deadbolt locks is good enough for a storm shelter. It is not. When a "storm door" like this goes through debris testing, it fails every time. It fails by tearing off the hinges, by collapsing when being struck by debris, and by breaking and bending around the deadbolt locks. And a door that fails when hit by debris makes the entire storm shelter virtually useless.

In April of 2014, a Safe Shed storm shelter door was struck by an airborne pickup truck that was slammed against it by an EF4 tornado with winds of over 200 mph. The back axle, wheel, and bed of the pickup hit the center of the door between the two top locks. Although there is a small indentation left, the door held firm and all seven people sheltering inside survived with no injuries.

Had that same pickup truck struck a home-improvement-store "storm door" with added deadbolts, the truck would have been thrown into the storm shelter, severely injuring the people inside. A piece of wood, much smaller and lighter than a pickup truck, was driven into this type of door during a tornado in Arkansas and killed someone. The door failed, was propelled into the storm shelter, and struck the woman hiding inside, killing her instantly.

So what's the takeaway? Your storm shelter must have a tested and approved door, specially designed for storm shelter use. It must have heavy duty hardware, multiple locks, and a reinforced door frame. If you're interested in learning more about the door we use at Safe Sheds, Inc., please feel free to give us a call. Our testing results are also published on our web site.

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