Protected Spaces & the "Red Alert" Procedure — The Office-Building Manager's Guide

In Israel, a protected space is not a technical corner where you fill in a form and forget it — it is the one safety component in a building that is measured not by an annual inspection but by the few short minutes of a "Red Alert" siren. In those minutes, the question of whether dozens of employees will reach a protected place, find it clear and open, and know where to run — is decided long before, in the quiet day-to-day where the building manager decides whether the protected space stays clear or turns into a storeroom. This guide walks through the types of protected space, the duties of an office-building manager, the maintenance that makes the space work when it counts, and the "Red Alert" procedure itself — so the space works when you need it, not when an inspector shows up.

Why this is critical specifically in Israel — and specifically in an office building

Israel is one of the few places in the world where protecting the population from missile and rocket threats is a built-in part of the building code and of everyday building life. The legal framework is the Civil Defense Law and the regulations issued under it, and the professional regulator is the Home Front Command — it is the body that sets the requirements for protected spaces, publishes the protection times for every area, and activates the "Red Alert" siren. Updated guidance is available through the Home Front Command's 104 hotline and its app.

In a residential building, each new apartment usually includes its own mamad (residential protected space), and residents are familiar with it. In an office building the picture is different and more complex: there are far more people in the same area, many of them guests or new employees who don't know the building, and often there is no private protected space per floor but a shared one — or even a single shared shelter for the whole building. This is exactly where the building manager comes in: they are the only party who holds the whole picture, maintains the space, and is responsible that in a siren the entire chain — from signage to an open door — simply works.

There is another fundamental difference. In a home the number of occupants is more or less known, and everyone knows the way to the protected space. In an office building the number of people changes hour to hour — meetings, guests, suppliers, contractor staff — and in most cases they don't know where the protected space is or what to do in a siren. This means responsibility cannot rest on "everyone will manage"; it must rest on infrastructure the building manager prepares in advance: signage that directs even a stranger, a space that is always clear, and a procedure that has been drilled. This subject is part of a wider emergency fabric — fire, evacuation, earthquake and security threat — all of which must dovetail with one another; see the emergency procedures in an office building for the full picture.

The four types of protected space — and which ones you have

Before talking about maintenance and drills you need to know exactly what the building has, because the type affects what the building manager is responsible for. The regulations distinguish between several types:

• Public shelter: a public or shared protected space — usually a large space, sometimes shared by several buildings or by a whole building. In older buildings this is often the shared shelter on the ground floor or in the basement.
• Mamad (residential protected space): the protected room inside a residential apartment. Less common in pure office buildings, but relevant in mixed-use buildings.
• Floor protected space: the most common type in office and commercial buildings — a protected space that serves an entire floor, and to which all the floor's occupants are meant to move during a siren.
• Institutional protected space: a space designated for institutions — such as educational or healthcare facilities — with dedicated requirements according to the nature of the occupants.

This identification is not merely technical. In an office building with a floor protected space on each floor, the challenge is making sure every floor knows which space is theirs and that it is clear; in a building with a single shared shelter, the challenge is time-to-arrival and capacity. Explicitly document which type of space exists in each part of the building, how many people it is meant to serve, and exactly where it is located — this is the foundation for everything else.

The building manager's duties — the golden rule: clear, open and sound

All of a building manager's duties around the protected space can be summed up in one sentence: at every given moment the space must be clear, accessible and sound — because there is no way to know in advance when a siren will sound. From this the practical duties are derived, all of which are the translation of Home Front Command guidance into management routine:

• Keep the space clear of storage: the temptation to use a floor protected space or a shelter as a storeroom is enormous, and it is also the most common violation. A protected space blocked with cardboard boxes, old furniture or cleaning equipment is not a protected space — it is a hazard. The area must remain clear for full capacity at all times.
• Never lock and never block: a locked door during a siren is equivalent to a space that doesn't exist. Access to the space, and along the entire route to it, must be open, clear and lit.
• Maintain the blast door and blast window: these are the components that turn an ordinary room into a protected space. They must close, lock and seal as designed — hinges, seals and locking mechanisms wear down and require periodic inspection.
• Maintain the air-filtration system: many protected spaces include an over-pressure air filter/filtration system, intended to allow prolonged sheltering and to protect against the ingress of hazardous substances. The system requires periodic inspection and maintenance per the manufacturer's instructions.
• Sign and mark the way: clear signage of the protected space and arrows leading to it along the route — so that even someone who doesn't know the building arrives quickly.
• Appoint someone in charge and drill: a designated person on behalf of the building, and periodic drills that verify the procedure is known and actually works.

Note that all of these are "routine" duties — they are checked on an ordinary day, not during a siren. Just like accessibility or fire safety, the protected space is a compliance component that quietly erodes if no one holds it; see the same logic in the Accessibility Law in an office building.

Keeping the space "ready" — maintenance and the air-filtration system

The difference between a protected space that exists on paper and one that will work when it matters is almost always maintenance. Two components require special attention, because their failure is discovered precisely at the moment when it can no longer be fixed.

The blast door and blast window

The blast door is the component that absorbs the shock wave, and therefore it must close and lock easily and tightly. Seals stiffen, hinges drop and locking mechanisms jam over the years — all of these can be detected in a simple visual-functional check, in which you open and close, check the seal and make sure nothing is preventing a full closure. The same principle applies to the blast window.

The air-filtration system

In protected spaces equipped with an over-pressure air-filtration system, the system is the heart of the ability to shelter in the space for a prolonged time safely. It includes filters, a blower and a mechanism that creates over-pressure to prevent unfiltered air from entering. Like any mechanical system, it requires periodic inspection per the manufacturer's instructions — because a clogged filter or a blower that isn't working turns the space's greatest advantage into something meaningless. We expanded on operating principles and maintenance in the protected-space air-filtration system guide.

The only way to make sure all of this actually happens is to fold it into the building's preventive maintenance (PPM) plan — just like elevators or fire detection. A protected space that isn't listed in the inspection schedule is a space no one is responsible for maintaining. You can generate dedicated line items for it in the preventive maintenance schedule generator — a blast-door check, a blast-window check, and an air-filtration system check per the manufacturer's recommendation. The protected space is a building system in every respect; for the broad picture of all systems see the building systems hub.

The "Red Alert" procedure — what happens in the minutes between the siren and the space

"Red Alert" is the name of the warning the Home Front Command activates when a launch toward a specific area is identified. From the moment it sounds — via a siren, the app or a local warning — there is a defined window of time to reach the protected space. The critical point every building manager must internalize: the protection time is not uniform across the country. The Home Front Command publishes it by area, and it ranges — depending on distance from the launch area — from a few short seconds near the border up to about 90 seconds (a minute and a half) in the most distant areas, such as the center of the country. This means your procedure must be built around the specific protection time of the building's area.

A sound "Red Alert" procedure in an office building is built in clear stages:

1. Detecting the warning: make sure the siren is heard and recognized in every part of the building — including floors, meeting rooms and isolated areas. The Home Front Command app is an important backup to the siren.
2. Immediate direction to the space: all the floor's occupants move to that floor's protected space (floor protected space) or to the shared shelter — according to the building's layout. The signage and arrows are what direct those who don't know the building.
3. If there is no time to reach it: anyone who cannot reach the protected space within the protection time acts per the Home Front Command's guidance for that situation — usually an interior space or a stairwell, away from windows and exterior walls.
4. Closing and sheltering: in the protected space — close the blast door and blast window, and wait in the space until the Home Front Command's guidance to leave (usually a few minutes after the end, depending on the area).
5. An orderly exit: leave only after the waiting time published by the Home Front Command has elapsed, and not the moment the siren goes quiet.

Three principles separate a sound "Red Alert" procedure from one that exists only in a binder. The first is time: everything must happen within the area's protection time, so the shorter the time, the closer and clearer the space must be. The second is coverage: a procedure has no value if some employees don't hear the siren or don't know where to go — so audibility must be verified in every part of the building, with a backup via the Home Front Command app. The third is exit discipline: a common phenomenon is leaving the space early the moment the siren goes quiet, whereas the Home Front Command defines a specific waiting time after the end. A manager who instills these three principles through drilling turns the procedure from a text into muscle memory.

This procedure does not stand on its own — it is a component in a broad emergency setup that also includes fire, evacuation and earthquake. It is important that it integrates with, and does not contradict, the other procedures: one route cannot simultaneously lead "out of the building" (in a fire) and "into the protected space" (in a Red Alert), so the procedures must be written together and not separately. See how it all connects in the office-building emergency procedures guide.

Signage, accountability and drilling — what turns a procedure into muscle memory

A procedure written in a binder saves no one. What works when it matters is a combination of three things the building manager is directly responsible for:

• Signage and arrows: a clear sign on the protected space itself, and directional arrows along the route from every part of the floor. In an office building, where many of the occupants don't know the layout, signage is sometimes the difference between a fast arrival and confusion.
• An appointed person in charge: a defined person on behalf of the building who is responsible for the protected space — to make sure it is clear, that the door is sound, that the signage exists, and that drilling takes place. Without one person in charge, responsibility is scattered and no one holds it.
• Periodic drilling: a periodic protection drill — sometimes coordinated with the Home Front Command's national drills — that verifies employees know where to go, that the route is clear, and that the space actually holds those who are supposed to reach it. A drill is also the best way to discover that the space has quietly turned into a storeroom.

Note the connecting thread: all the physical protections in the world — a blast door, air filtration, a protected space — are worth little if no one knows how to reach them in time. Signage and drilling are what convert the infrastructure into a real capability.

The protected space as part of the overall safety setup

It is easy to think of the protected space as a separate topic, but in practice it fits into the same safety fabric that holds fire detection and suppression, accessibility and emergency evacuation. The route to the protected space must remain clear exactly like the escape route; the space must be documented exactly like any other system; and it is inspected on the same routine by which the rest of the building is inspected. A manager who manages safety as one integrated setup — and not as a collection of disconnected procedures — is the one whose protected space will actually work.

A practical connection point: the fire authority's annual inspection examines escape routes, signage and access — exactly the same principles that apply to access to the protected space. Managing both together in an orderly way saves double work; see the annual fire-authority approval checklist, which runs on the same method of clear, accessible and documented.

Building manager's checklist — protected space and "Red Alert" procedure

In summary, these are the actions every office-building manager should make sure happen — not once, but as a recurring routine:

1. Mapping: documenting the type of space in each part of the building (public shelter / mamad / floor protected space / institutional), its location and its capacity.
2. Clearing: make sure the space is clear of storage, that the route to it is clear, and that the door is not locked and not blocked — at all times.
3. Blast door and window: a periodic visual-functional check of opening, closing, locking and sealing.
4. Air filtration: checking the air-filtration system per the manufacturer's instructions, and recording it in the preventive maintenance plan.
5. Signage: a clear sign on the space and directional arrows along the route from every area.
6. Person in charge: appointing a person responsible for the protected space and the procedure.
7. Area-specific procedure: a "Red Alert" procedure built around the specific protection time of the building's area (published by the Home Front Command / app / 104 hotline).
8. Drilling: a periodic protection drill that verifies employees know where to go and that the space actually works.

The protected space is the component no one looks at — until the moment it is the only thing that matters. Quiet maintenance and simple drilling are the difference between a space that exists on paper and one that saves lives.

At Domera Hub we manage the protected-spaces setup as part of the building's safety and maintenance plan — mapping, door and filtration checks, signage, an area-specific procedure and drill documentation. See more in the building systems hub, read about emergency procedures in an office building, or get a proposal for a review of your building's emergency readiness.