Vault

A vault is a type of survival shelter designed to protect individuals from nuclear war. Leaders who managed vaults are known as overseers.

Background
Vault-Tec built over 100 Vaults around the country as well as in newly annexed Canada. This was part of the Societal Preservation Program. The company sponsored an exhibit at the Museum of Technology in the capital, designed to promote their shelters and explain their functionality. Not all vaults were completed by the time the Great War occurred on October 23, 2077, and some vaults sealed without many of their intended inhabitants.

The Series 1000 Shelter was an alternative offered by Vault-Tec, for those too far from a full vault. This series was a one-level subterranean mini-vault priced for a small corporation or medium-sized community. 

Vault Life
Awards granted to Vault Dwellers included those for the Annual Halloween Costume Contest, Vault Dweller of the Year, Excellence in Bravery, Performance Award for Vault Hall Monitors, Cleanest Toilet, Best Looking Hair, and Outstanding Achievement.

Doors
External

A vault was designed to provide protection from nuclear fallout, constructed with blast doors. The doors had a projected 2% failure rate in case of a direct hit by an atomic bomb. Different variants included the Seal-N-Safe model No. 343 that measured four feet in thickness, constructed with steel, and contained twelve cogs, used in the demonstration vault. Specific access codes are necessary to operate some doors, while other panels require connection to a Pip-Boy to access the door controls. The Vault City doors are built with power couplings.

Other variants have nine cogs instead of twelve, opening to a retractable catwalk leading into the vault. The external door reads the vault's number, along with a warning that tampering may lead to loss of life, and an additional warning to stand 10 meters back during the initial purge bell. The door is labeled as pressurized, and not to approach until all clear. To the left of the number, a Societal Preservation Program label is found.

The Vault 94 door controls were linked to the vault's external radiation sensors, causing it to automatically close once radiation outside reached levels consistent with a nuclear event. The Vault-Tec Security Manual outlined complete operating instructions, but specific procedures unique to Vault 94 superseded general paragraphs. The Vault 94 Community Council was charged with answering inquires regarding access except in cases of emergency, in which case the vault door controls were overridden by the vault's Emergency Management System.

Interior

The interior doors are labeled with warnings stating they utilize hydraulic locks, the pressure scale varying between 3300 and 9900 lbs of pressure. The doors vary in function and color, some swinging open and others sliding. Select vaults utilized hidden doors, some are utilized in Enclave facilities such as the Whitespring bunker and a large vault door is on display in the lobby of Morgantown's Vault-Tec University.

The doors have a power box that glows green when unlocked and red when locked. A caution zone is marked by yellow lines on the floor. Others are painted with a vertical band with a stop sign and the words "No Access - Authorized Personnel Only." There are downward pointing arrows above and below the text. Maintenance room doors swing open as opposed to sliding. On one side of the door, there are two circular indicators that display OPEN and STAND BACK when opening.

Appearances
Vaults appear in all Fallout games to date.

Behind the scenes

 * Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky, and Jason D. Anderson first came up with the idea of vaults housing dark experiments during the initial development stages of Fallout 2, with the more "wacky" experiments being developed after the three left Interplay.
 * Vaults are mentioned Fallout Bible.
 * According to Chris Taylor, the Master's vault was built as a demonstration model for the federal government, and was close to Vault-Tec's headquarters.