Ohio Emergency Management Agency Accepting Safe Room Applications

The Ohio Safe Room Rebate Program is now accepting applications. The program provides a rebate for the purchase and construction or installation of tornado safe rooms for Ohio homeowners selected for the program.
Ohio EMA’s mitigation branch chief, Steve Ferryman, explains, “The entire state of Ohio is at risk of an EF5 tornado, which produces 250 miles per hour winds capable of destroying most structures. A safe room is built to withstand these winds and resulting airborne debris and provides near-absolute protection for occupants.”
A safe room is an extreme-wind shelter or space that provides protection to people during a tornado. It can be constructed or installed in one of several places in the home, the basement, beneath a concrete slab-on-grade foundation or garage floor, or in an interior room on the first floor. A safe room may also be buried in the yard or be a stand-alone structure near your home.
. Residents selected for the program could be eligible for a rebate up to 75 percent of the cost to install or construct a safe room for a maximum of $4,875. To apply for the Ohio Safe Room Rebate Program, please visit https://ema.ohio.gov/ema_saferoom/saferoom-concept.aspx. April 1, 2019, is the final day to apply.
The Ohio Safe Room Rebate Program will use a computerized random selection process to select applicants. Homeowners that are chosen will be notified of their position on the priority list on or after April 5, 2019. Ohio EMA anticipates grant funding will become available this year.
Funding for the rebate program is available through a partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs. Safe rooms must meet require­ments found in FEMA publications 320 and 361 and cannot be constructed or installed prior to the rebate drawing and notification from Ohio EMA. Ohio EMA plans to offer this rebate program on an annual basis. The number of rebates available will be determined by the funding provided by HMA.
For additional information about this program, please contact Dan Clevidence at (614) 799-3533
Return to Top of Page Call: (614) 466-0332
Email: op3@dps.ohio.gov
Visit: www.homelandsecurity.ohio.gov/op3.stm