Frequency: Common. These sorts of commonplace structures dot the landscape just about everywhere in North America. That said, the larger the city, the more multi-story office buildings one will come across.
Inherent Survivor Hazards: There are two main drawbacks to the use of the office building as a possible zombie-free safe zone: multiple entrance points and potential for difficulty when escaping through alternate exits. Also, we urge you to be selective when picking what office building you would like to utilize as a hideout - not all have fully equipped kitchens (a factor that may or may not be a point worth considering depending on the availability of electrical power in the immediate area). If this is important to you, do your homework.*
Inherent Zombie Hazards: No actual serious zombie hazards exist in the modern office building. Zombie have exhibited that they commonly experience quite a bit of difficulty with stairs, but the fact that these buildings are dotted with stairs could hardly be considered a true hazard.
General Tactics: The modern office building is a fascinating study in the world’s overall dichotomy. Its heights simultaneously offer a high degree of functional safety which are in turn counterbalanced by a healthy dose of labyrinthine danger. The initial level-by-level sweep of the building to eliminate any and all zombies present will present any team with an extremely risky situation. With so many doors, conference rooms, alcoves and other compartmentalization, there are countless places where even the most vigilant defender can be ambushed. Research has demonstrated a need to be especially cognizant of the potential for either floor snapper or draggers when sweeping desk-filled offices or other areas filled with ground level debris. Also, never forget to sweep the roof.
After completing the initial sweep, preparations can be made to help turn the office into workable stronghold. In order to best utilize one of the upper stories of an office building, it is imperative to first secure all entry points from the lower, non-inhabited levels. Ground level stairwells will provide a pack of shamblors the ability to gain access to your tidy little home unless you have found sufficient means to bar their entry. Barricades attached on the actual inside of any entry point door provides for an excellent first step. It is advisable to still throw up a substantial amount of obstructing debris (which should be found in abundance on the unused floors) all along the stairwell entry ways and probably the first flight or two of stairs, especially in the event that these ground level stairwells lack a door. When possible, select debris that would produce quite a bit of sound if disturbed. This will not only provide an additional impediment to any shamblors attempting entry, but will also serve as a makeshift "alarm" in the event that any sort of trespass were to occur. Similar procedures should be followed on any stairwell leading upward from any floor of the building with easy ground access, including the first non-ground level of the building where any sort of entry to the building could be obtained from climbing in through a broken window (or similar means).
Research conducted by zombiedefense.org has led us to strongly suggest to anyone contemplating use of an abandoned office as shelter that they should spend some time seriously investing in the development of alternate means for escape from every floor above ground level. These means should be retractable and secure (so as they themselves do not become a way for marauders or shamblors to find their way in to you) while simultaneously remaining easily accessible. If roof access is available at a selected building, this point may prove to be a good one to construct a final fail-safe escape mechanism. On the extremely rare off chance that one’s group has procured a helicopter, plan on using the roof as a staging ground for take-off and landing.
Once secured, a party can last in a multi-story office building for a considerable period of time. The abundance of windows allow for a party to constantly be able to scan their surroundings for potential intruders, living or undead. The use of a high vantage point can also allows for the group to survey further out on the horizon than could be done for ground-level quarters. Staking claim to a multi-floor office allows for a group to maintain high morale and also helps to promote long term survival by giving all of the individuals plenty of room to spread out for (relatively safe) higher degrees of privacy found in many other locations.
Safety Rating: 8 of 10. While drawbacks do exist (potential exit difficulty, competition among survivor groups for well maintained units, etc), the modern-day multi-story office building is a valuable resource for long-term survival. Far from impregnable, but quite impressive and potentially safe.
* zombiedefense.org would like to take this time to stress to you your deep need to come to grips with the actual state of the reality you will be faced with. Are you seriously going to be selecting one safe hiding zone over another based solely on the fact that one has a kitchen while the other does not? Take this time to think about what a post-apocalyptic landscape is going to look like and ask yourself what your true priorities are in that sort of world. If you honestly feel that you are best served by focusing on such trivialities and current amenities than maybe you should go ahead and save yourself the trouble by arranging for a visit from “man’s best friend.” Focus on the problem at hand – survival is important. If the office you select has a full kitchen, great. Prepare yourself to turn it into excess quarters or towards some other utilitarian end. You’re never going to be making that four-star au poirve sauce again.
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