F-5 Storm Shelters

One of our shelters was recently featured on the Weather Channel’s “Weather Proof” series. The episode was entitled "Tornadoes: The Twisted Truth".

They really put our shelter through its paces. After the shelter was installed onto a concrete runway, they hit it with winds over 300 mph. They dropped over a ton of bridge timbers on it and shot debris (such as 2”x4” boards, 50 pound meter base, ect.) in excess of 150 mph at it and all it did was scratch the paint a little. We then installed the shelter inside of a garage that they had built for the shelter. They placed dynamite and gasoline inside the building and proceeded to pull a full sized car hooked to a fast winch through the building at about 35 mph and into the shelter. The dynamite and gasoline was exploded as the car hit. After about 5 minutes, the fire department put the fire out. Out of hundreds of welds on the building only one had broke…inside the shelter looked brand new. The paint on the outside of the shelter was a little scorched as well. Check out this clip from TWC website.

The Weather Channel does not in any way endorse our product or are they in any way affiliated with us.

New Video added. Check out the video that we just added of one of our safe rooms being tested. Click here....

Why F-5 Storm Shelters and Safe Rooms?

All of our Shelters are designed by a structural engineer. Our storm shelters meet or exceed all of the F.E.M.A guidelines. Our storm shelters have corrosion protection that can triple the life of the shelters over many of our competitors shelters.

Our storm shelters and safe rooms are designed and certified to withstand an F-5 tornado and more. Many shelters on the market are made for 250 mile per hour winds, or up to a medium range F-4 tornado. Our shelters and safe rooms are made to withstand any F-5 tornado and even up to 330 miles per hour winds.

Most metal shelters on the market is made with metal 1/8" thick. Ours is twice that thick, 1/4" .

Another thing to watch for is putting a steel storm shelter and using the concrete floor instead of a metal floor. If lightning strikes our shelter or even if a power line fell on the shelter, you are safe inside. The metal is a complete ground. If you have a concrete floor, and you are touching the metal and the floor, you are the ground.

We build shelters for several other storm and fallout shelter dealers all over the country. Why not buy direct from us and save?

Why do I need a Storm Shelter or Safe room?

Spring is tornado season in the South with 50% of all tornadoes occurring between the months of April and June. Most tornadoes occur between noon and sunset. However, tornadoes are unpredictable, and can occur any time, day or night, January through December. The eastern 2/3 of the United States has the greatest concentration of tornadoes on earth.

Thunderstorms and their attendant tornadoes typically move northeasterly or easterly, but tornado tracks can be erratic. Tornadoes move forward at speeds ranging from nearly stationary to 60 M.P.H. or more. Measurements from the Doppler Radar give top speeds in the 250-300 M.P.H. range.

Safe rooms not only protect you from storms but can also offer protection for you and your valuables from thieves and from those wishing you or your family harm.

Why Metal?

When we started checking into building underground shelters, we were very thorough. We talked to several engineers about the structure, strength, and durability of different types of shelters.

We were interested in fiberglass shelters because they were cheaper, light, and easy to install. We were warned that a fiberglass shelter is not safe from a severe tornado.

Then we started researching concrete shelters. Again, these shelters have many bad points. The concrete walls sweat and often become moldy inside. Sometimes the concrete cracks and seeps water.

Then, we thoroughly checked into metal shelters, and found that if coated properly, they are safe, long-lasting, and stay dry inside. Compare our shelters to any other on the market. They are better than any we have found. You might find a cheaper shelter, but it will not have the quality of our shelters.

Don't forget, we custom build...

Our shelters are ideal for churches, fire departments, town halls, schools, etc. We now build large shelters for businesses and communities...up to 160 person occupancy each.

Our safe rooms can go inside any home that is going to be built, or outside existing homes.

If you live in a low lying area or an area prone to rising waters from hurricanes, etc. we have the ideal safe room for you. We can put a safe room in the first floor of a two story home with the door entrance to the safe room on top. Now you can enter the saferoom from the second floor of your home. The entrance can be inside a closet or any where you choose. When this is done, the water would be 8' or 9' deep inside your home before it can enter the safe room. These safe rooms can be put under homes that are built up on poles in low lying areas where the entrance is still inside the home. These have to be installed before the home is built. We can put these outside an existing home. When we do this, we build steps on the outside of the shelter going up to the top. Once you are at the top, you open the door and step into the shelter and go down the steps inside.

Looking for a Fallout Shelter? NBC Fallout Shelters is a division of F-5 Storm Shelters & Safe Rooms.