A safe room refers to any above or below ground shelter designed, constructed, and installed in accordance with the most recent versions of FEMA Publications 320 and 361, as well as ICC 500 standards.

The International Building Code (IBC) defines a storm shelter as a building or structure constructed under ICC 500, Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters, and designated for ...

FEMA notes that consumers may see different terms. It said a “storm shelter” meets the requirements of ICC 500. A "safe room" meets both ICC 500 and FEMA P-361 FEMA Funding Criteria.

The 15,000-sq.-ft shared facility houses a full fire station that has three pull-thru apparatus bays, the city’s backup 9-1-1 dispatch center, an ICC 500 storm shelter and a police substation.

Since the tornado, 66 homes have registered their storm shelter. More than 500 homes are registered that were in the storm’s path. There are more than 1,300 storm shelters registered citywide.