What should a panic room have inside?

Answer 1

Much has been written about what to include in a "Disaster Kit", but very little can be found concerning what to stock in a "Panic Room". As the movie by the same name depicts, a "panic room" is a secure room in a house (usually) or building where the resident can retreat and hide when faced with any type of threatening situation.

In the movie, a woman has just moved into a different house with her daughter. The mother is recently separated/divorced from the father. Unknown to them, a small band of robbers had previously cased the house, choosing to come back later to break in. The robbers are unaware of the new residents. After moving in and unpacking, the mother (Jodi Foster) is shown drinking wine while trying to figure out how to set the security codes for the doors. The house also has video security, but the mother seems to not know how it works. By the time she awakens and realizes there is a threat, she knows she cannot get her daughter out of the house safely. The daughter is discovered; the mother hides, trying to find a way to rescue her daughter. Finally, they both make it into the "panic room", a room added on by the previous owner who had stored "untraceable Bearer's Bonds" in a safe in the panic room. The movie's tension mounts when we learn the child has a life-threatening medical condition, but the girl's medicine is not in the panic room.

A panic room must be individualized based on that person's or family's needs. Some of the items people may want to store in a panic room could include:

• a pillow and blanket for each person
• at least 1 change of clothing per person
• several days of food and water for each person (at least 1 gallon of water per day per person)
• if canned food, a can opener is needed
• extra prescription medicine for each person - replaced every few months so it is current
• over-the-counter medicine, such as aspirin or general pain reliever
• a first aid kit
• a separate cell phone, left in there at all times, with a way to charge it
• a flashlight
• extra batteries for all battery items
• a battery-operated radio
• toys for children
• something to write on & writing pen
• a fire extinguisher, just in case

IF qualified to use, some type of personal protection or weapon. Use caution, however! Any weapon can be used against the person or family who is hiding.

In addition, the construction of a "panic room" must include attention to these areas:

• a locking mechanism that can't be picked
• a locking mechanism that is easy for the family to unlock when they need to leave / get out
• a door strong enough to prevent invasion or a hidden door
• a plan for how to contact the authorities; for example, in the movie, the room had a phone jack but the robbers cut the line downstairs
• a plan for how people will "go to the bathroom" when there's no toilet
• a well-ventilated space, separate from the house's ventilation
• a window that no intruder can get into
• a plan for how friends or other family would know you're in the panic room, for example, "if there's no contact for 2 days, call the police"
• a plan for how to know it is truly safe to come out