Planning Guidelines for Safe Room Design

How Much Room Do We Need?

Many factors influence the size and capacity of safe rooms or areas within a school. FEMA 391 standards  recommend a minimum S.F. per person. Our recommendation is 7 to 10 S.F. per person. If the school has a actual occupancy of 720 students and 76 teachers / administrators then the total design occupancy would be 796 occupants. This yields a total area of need for safe rooms of 5572 S.F.  or roughly 7 classroom size areas. These areas are often found as pods of 4 classrooms or paired classrooms with other areas near offices and support spaces for smaller groups.  

The table below outlines the area needed for safe rooms in various size schools: 

           Occupants                Area / S.F.             Total Area            Equivalent Classrooms

              400                             10                     4000 S.F.                     5.3

              500                             10                     5000 S.F.                     6.6

              600                             10                     6000 S.F.                     8.0

              700                             10                     7000 S.F.                     9.3

              800                             10                     8000 S.F.                   10.6

            1200                             10                   12000 S.F.                   16.0

The number of classrooms calculated uses 750 S.F. as a standard size classroom. 

Additionally, consideration should be given to accessibility needs by some students, locating portions of the total required area throughout the school to reduce time to get to the shelter and reduce the number of occupants in each area.  Areas with more than 50 occupants are required to have a restroom to meet FEMA  361 standards. 

How long will it take ? 

The FEMA grant funding process can be lengthy and take up to 18-24 months. That assumes your district gets funding. Some districts elect to meet the FEMA 361 standards and others chose to construct hardened buildings or areas that meet a majority of the design criteria, but cannot be called a “safe room”.  These "safe rooms" can be built more economically and in less time. 

The number of options you have relate to many factors including existing building, new construction, renovation, hardened or FEMA standard, budget and funding sources and several others. We will work with your leadership team to help simplify the process. We can evaluate your unique situation, propose options and help you and your community find the best solution for your school and your community.  

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