Peeling Back the Layers on Condo Security
No matter the medium, the pundits will all tell you the same thing about urban survival - you get out or get dead. While I think there's some truth in the statement, the rebar retreat has never been given a fair shake against its rural kin. The city is quick to erupt, so safety is a handsome target. But when we start to peel back the layers of security, it's easy to see that the common condo deserves far more credit than it gets.
When looking to establish a defensive plan, our goal is to support our location with concentric circles of security. An 'onion' of sorts, that stacks physical and system barriers to prevent intrusion or attack. Looking at things in a classical sense, we want the moat before the wall, the wall before another, and tower to see the trouble before it even begins. In truth, our needs don't stray too far from the 16th century bastion, and neither do the solutions.
Deter. Detect. Delay. Defend.
I often present this as a quick cue to develop security in depth. Are there features to deter an adversary? Detect intrusion? Delay an attack? And ultimately, to defend the location? While these are concepts that can be applied to across the board, the condo presents a cold-bore advantage in many of these categories. Unlike most rural homes, the condo starts its journey as a multi-barrier location. Depending on the construction, you could hit 3-5 locked steel fire doors before you even have a chance to knock on your own. There's also a matter of target selection for randomized attacks - taking the advantage of choice and turning it to chance - as well as detection and deterrence offered by a doorman or neighbor.
Solid doors, steel strike plates, extended hardware, and added locks all contribute to your apartment's security. Shackles and floor-mounts like the Nightlock also help to firm up the door from the top and bottom.
These are all innate qualities found in a metropolitan dwelling, giving the condo a fantastic head start in turbulent times. Bolstered by digital and physical security measures - such as improved strike plates, locks, and most importantly, longer screws - the condo quickly shapes up as a real contender. Though it would be dangerous to ignore the cons presented by a long-term disaster, you should never feel like you're out of the fight because you're five stories up. You're safer than you think, and that's only the beginning.