The COVID-19 outbreak has a growing number of Americans recognizing they need to be prepared in the event of emergencies that overwhelm local authorities and even the federal government. They’re learning, in fact, that preparing for the unexpected means having supplies and a safe room or bunker ready before the next pandemic strikes.

“The coronavirus pandemic has opened a lot of eyes,” says Rob Soles, founder and CEO of RD Soles & Associates, an international security firm. “Events sometimes occur that overwhelm the institutions and authorities we’re accustomed to depending on. At that point, you’re more or less on your own.”

Whether you’re talking about a secure, in-home safe room or the kind of underground, Cold War bunker that was once popular in backyards across America, a growing number of Americans are once again recognizing that it is up to them to prepare for circumstances for which local authorities and the government may not themselves be prepared.

“If you feel panicked to run out and hoard toilet paper and other supplies because of a news event, you’re not prepared.”

The empty store shelves, stay-in-place quarantines, and besieged medical systems that are usually the stuff of Hollywood apocalypse fare have suddenly become an all-too-real part of Americans’ lives and a startling reminder that they, too, were not prepared.

“If you feel panicked to run out and hoard toilet paper and other supplies because of a news event, you’re not prepared,” says Soles.

The two options most homeowners are turning to?

Safe Rooms – Already popular with security-conscious homeowners, a safe room serves as an in-home sanctuary that uses a variety of exterior hardening and access control solutions to keep out the bad guys.

Safe rooms also can be stocked with supplies, outfitted with independent air and water filtration systems, and be powered by auxiliary generators and communication systems.

The benefit of a safe room or series of safe rooms is that they can double as normal living space. Visitors usually won’t even be able to tell your den is actually a safe room.

Bunkers – Made famous at the height of the Cold War and designed to survive a nuclear war, underground bunkers employ all of the same benefits of a safe room, but are also capable of surviving extensive terrestrial damage (natural weather events, bomb blasts, etc.).

Interested in discussing a safe room or bunker for your home? Contact us to learn more.