Enhanced Safe Room Saved Family From Direct Missile Hit
Kati Tal, a family lawyer living in a 1970s Tel Aviv apartment building without a private safe room, decided to upgrade her apartment's protection before the first round of conflict with Iran. Despite her husband's initial hesitation about the estimated NIS 100,000 cost, Tal insisted on creating a protected space within the apartment, as she was unwilling to use the building's shared, distant shelter during air raids. The renovation, which included reinforcing a room with specialized materials and replacing the door and window with protected versions, took about a week.
During a subsequent escalation, a cluster bomb struck the roof of her building. The munition penetrated the roof room, passed through the third floor, and detonated in the stairwell. Tal and her family were inside their reinforced room and heard the explosion but felt no structural impact. They initially believed the strike was on a neighboring building.
Upon exiting the reinforced room, they discovered the blast had blown apartment doors inward and caused significant damage throughout the building, including to the roof, third floor, plumbing, and other apartments. However, the family remained unharmed due to their protected space. Tal credits the reinforced room with saving their lives, emphasizing that the stairwell, where they would have sought shelter, was the direct impact zone.
Ran Naor, CEO of Ortek Protection Systems, the company that performed the upgrade, explained that while such a room is not a fully compliant safe room (Mamad), it offers a significant layer of protection for those in older buildings who cannot build a Mamad. The process involves reinforcing walls with composite materials and installing a Mamad-grade door and window, creating a protective capsule. The work typically takes up to eight days and costs between NIS 100,000 and NIS 140,000, depending on the room's condition and whether the ceiling requires reinforcement. Naor stressed that this is a vital need in the current reality, not a luxury, and can be adapted to individual family needs and apartment layouts.
