Blast-resistant modular buildings have come a long way since their early use following the 2005 Texas City refinery explosion.
What began as a necessary stopgap for protecting personnel has evolved into a highly engineered category of safety-critical infrastructure.
BRMs have evolved, and RedGuard has been part of that journey. Input from EHS, siting analysis, engineering standards and realworld events shaped today’s designs. Safety is expected, and the new bar is engineering confidence with proven testing and design to perform under site conditions.
Early blast-rated shelters were designed to a 1 psi overpressure threshold. That standard quickly moved to 5 psi, then 8 psi. In the last five years, the 10 psi rating has become a frequent benchmark, driven by hazard assessments that show higher potential overpressures in exclusion zones and adjacent units.
What’s important to remember is that 10 psi isn’t just a label. It represents a structural design requirement that must be validated through rigorous analysis and real-world testing. As the demand for higher-rated BRMs has grown, so has the importance of testing full-scale units under realistic load conditions. Today, RedGuard regularly delivers buildings rated 15 psi or higher.
We’ve completed multiple rounds of live blast testing, most recently in 2020, where a 6,000-pound charge generated 23 psi reflected pressure on test buildings. These tests explored high-reflection scenarios in tight layouts. Our testing helped us validate critical components like anchoring, foundation connections and overall structural performance under extreme conditions. Key learnings from these tests support our stackable designs, particularly around blast wave behavior and structural load transfer.
Stacking adds complexity, especially in blast zones. It’s not enough to show that a single unit performs. You need validated data on how anchor connections, structural and non-structural elements behave under load. RedGuard backs these configurations with testing and engineering analysis. Not every vendor does.
Blast resistance is critical, but it’s not the only engineering challenge. Sites also face high winds, seismic activity, extreme heat or toxic gas exposure. A well-designed BRM accounts for site-specific challenges. In many cases, the blast-rated steel design inherently exceeds requirements for wind or seismic loading. When needed, we can also design for storm shelter use or incorporate dedicated shelter modules.
In space-constrained refineries and plants, vertical footprint matters. Stacked BRMs can house offices, conference rooms, kitchens and bathrooms while meeting blast and occupancy rules. Stacking requires engineering with anchoring, load paths and pressure behavior addressed. We’ve built quad layouts and 10-unit stacks to maximize safety and efficiency by designing for both.
Industrial BRMs typically address vapor cloud explosions, which are low-pressure and last longer than blasts that are seen in military scenarios. Military applications often face high-pressure, short-duration events from high explosives. Structurally, both demand rigorous design, but the loading curves differ.
Military designs should also address internal threats, fragmentation and pressure relief. These scenarios may arise in industrial settings too. Physics vary, but the engineering principles hold. Know your hazard. Design accordingly.
In addition to structural safety, modern BRMs often integrate with plant-wide emergency systems. In a toxic gas scenario, sensors may trigger shelter-in-place protocols — often in stages, from recirculation mode to full HVAC shutdown. Many units are pressurized or filtered to support shelter-in-place events.
We work with facility teams to ensure each BRM supports their Site Emergency Plan, both structurally and operationally. If a plant’s standard calls for automated HVAC isolation during a toxic gas release, the BRM needs to support it, without delay or guesswork.
When evaluating BRMs, look beyond surface specs and ask if the design has been blast tested, stacking performance verified, environmental loads rated, siting data integrated, shelter-in-place supported and validation confirmed by third-party risk assessors.
Not all vendors invest in live testing. Not all units are equal, even if they carry similar ratings. In a risk scenario, the difference matters.
Too often, BRM siting is a late-stage decision. But bringing vendors in early during turnarounds or new capital projects allows better planning, clearer cost modeling and safer execution. We can help assess productivity impacts, model ROI and design smarter placements that reduce downtime while keeping crews protected.
Blast-resistant doesn’t mean overbuilt or overcomplicated. It means right-sized for your risk and proven to hold when it counts.
For more information, visit redguard.com or call (855) 733-4827.
