Safe Rooms Save Lives: Federal Alliance for Safe Homes® and the National Storm Shelter Association to Spread the Word at 'Rebuilding Henryville' and Donate Nine Safe Rooms to Indiana Tornado Victims

Safe rooms valued at $70,000 will be made part of Habitat for Humanity rebuilding projects

LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In an effort to spread the word nationwide that "safe rooms save lives," the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH®) has teamed up with the National Storm Shelter Association (NSSA) to attend the Rebuilding Henryville benefit concert, and to donate nine safe rooms to Habitat for Humanity for rebuilding projects in the Henryville, IN area.

The Rebuilding Henryville concert, scheduled for May 16, 2012, will feature Grammy-award winning country music group Lady Antebellum and will directly benefit Henryville, IN which was affected by a devastating EF-4 tornado in early March 2012.

In addition to the $70,000 donation of nine tornado safe rooms to Habitat for Humanity, FLASH and the NSSA will distribute valuable information to concert-goers to educate them about the life-saving benefits of tornado safe rooms.

"Our thanks go to Lady Antebellum for their efforts to raise funds toward Rebuilding Henryville and for graciously allowing FLASH and NSSA to educate their fans about the importance of tornado safe rooms at the concert," said Leslie Chapman-Henderson, President and CEO of FLASH. "Also, we are extremely proud to partner with NSSA and Habitat for Humanity to distribute live-saving safe rooms to tornado victims in the Henryville area," she added.

According to FLASH, a safe room can provide ultimate life safety protection from the dangerous forces of severe winds and tornadoes. Safe rooms that meet NSSA, International Code Council (ICC) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standards are designed to withstand up to 250 mile-per-hour winds, and offer lifesaving refuge for families in the path of high-wind events like tornadoes.

Homeowners can build or retrofit the interior spaces of their homes to safe-room standards or choose to purchase pre-fabricated safe rooms designed to withstand tornado-force winds.  Closets, bathrooms, laundry rooms and outdoor rooms like garden sheds and pool houses can be enhanced to serve as safe rooms. 

Published jointly by the ICC and the NSSA, ICC 500: 2008 Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters provides minimum design and construction requirements for storm shelters.  A second standard, the ICC 600: 2008 Standard for Residential Construction in High-Wind Regions, specifies prescriptive methods to provide wind resistant designs and construction details for residential buildings of masonry, concrete, wood-framed or cold-formed steel framed construction sited in high wind regions. The standard provides requirements and other details of construction for buildings sited in wind climates of 100 to 150 mph in 10 mph increments.  Additionally, FEMA P-320, Taking Shelter From the Storm, Building a Safe Room For Your Home or Small Business, helps homeowners and small business owners assess their risk and determine the best type of safe room to meet their needs.

The donation of the safe rooms is taking place in honor of Disaster Safety Week of the International Code Council Foundation® Building Safety Month.  Disaster Safety Week is co-sponsored by FLASH and FEMA.  Companies donating safe rooms include:

• Bartow Precast
• Flat Safe Tornado Shelters, LLC
• Missouri Storm Shelters, Inc.
• Norwalk Concrete Industries
• The Perfect Storm Shelters, LLC
• Safe Sheds, Inc.
• Vaughn Concrete Products, Inc.
• Wieser Concrete Products, Inc.

About FLASH

Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)®, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is the country's leading consumer advocate for strengthening homes and safeguarding families from natural and manmade disasters. FLASH collaborates with more than 100 innovative and diverse partners that share its vision of making America a more disaster-resistant nation including: BASF, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Florida Division of Emergency Management, The Home Depot®, International Code Council®, Kohler Power Systems, National Weather Service, RenaissanceRe, Simpson Strong-Tie®, State Farm®, USAA® and WeatherPredict Consulting Inc. In 2008, FLASH opened the interactive weather experience StormStruck: A Tale of Two Homes® in Lake Buena Vista, FL. Learn more about FLASH and gain access to its free consumer resources by visiting www.flash.org or calling (877) 221-SAFE (7233). Also, get timely safety tips to ensure that you and your family are always well protected from natural and manmade disasters by subscribing to the FLASH blog – Protect Your Home in a FLASH.

SOURCE Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. - FLASH