THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN SHOPPING FOR A SAFE ROOM IS FOUND ON THIS PAGE!
Flying debris is the leading cause of injuries and fatalities during a tornado. But in this unregulated industry F5 Missile Impact testing is only recommended, not mandatory!
Most manufacturers that do submit their tornado shelters or safe rooms to impact testing stop at the minimum requirement of only FOUR impacts to claim they are “F5 Certified”, “FEMA Approved” (a totally false claim), or whatever other term they choose.
At Tornado Alley Armor, we were just getting warmed up at four impacts!
Watch our NINE impact tests below and judge our level of safety for yourself.
Did you notice that only one of the boards even split in half? They just bounce off, and that’s by design!
Our tempered steel design functions similar to the “crumple zone” built into automobile designs, deflecting on impact and increasing the impact time by a few milliseconds. This additional time allows the energy to properly dissipate into the entire structure rather than remaining concentrated on the point of impact. It’s the same principle used in Kevlar bullet proof vests to prevent penetration.
If you watch impact tests from other manufacturers you’ll see the boards splinter, shatter or disintegrate at the point of impact. It makes for good video, but it’s not the ideal situation. That’s because the vast majority of the energy remains focused at the point of impact, increasing the potential for failure there. So if the debris happens to be a sharp metal object that doesn’t shatter instead of a blunt 2×4 that does, the thicker but more brittle non-tempered steel has a greater potential for failure than our tempered steel, which has been made stronger and more pliable through the tempering process. (Gosh, we sure do love physics and facts!)
KEEP READING….THIS IS WHAT’S GOING ON
Testing safe rooms and storm shelters for F5 missile debris impacts is important, and certainly dramatic to watch, but….
Impact testing alone IS NOT ENOUGH to ensure your safety!!!!
In this unregulated industry, claims like “F5 Certified” or “FEMA Approved” (again, a totally false claim) are used to mislead potential buyers that some shelters have been through all the necessary steps required to ensure they are safe and compliant to all recommended guidelines.
There are a large number manufacturers who DO NOT subject their products to independent 3rd party peer review to ensure the design is built to FEMA standards. That’s because many times the designs are not compliant and would not pass.
Generally speaking, when it comes to storm shelters the public knows only a few industry buzz words like “Texas Tech” or “F5 Certified”, so those manufactures will only have their units impact tested, and then use a test report like the one shown here to convince unsuspecting customers that they are in full compliance. THIS IS NOT SO! The industry is unregulated, so there is no penalty for non-compliance with FEMA 320. Unfortunately, even some big-box retailers are now selling storm shelters that haven’t been thoroughly vetted, so you still need to do your homework.
Remember, there’s so much more to a “safe” storm shelter or safe room than just Missile Impact Testing….
Door and hinge designs, ventilation, anchoring systems, stress and wind load calculations, quality control measures, installation and manufacturing procedures, etc…who checks those designs, those calculations, those procedures and claims…..you?
That mandate can only be found with safe rooms verified by the
National Storm Shelter Association.
A mandated peer review is not found in the other association’s guidelines, and certainly is not found with independent manufacturers.
TORNADO ALLEY ARMOR IS A PROUD PRODUCER MEMBER OF THE NSSA
QUALITY – INTEGRITY – SAFETY
