Shelters such as the one shown here are buried, anchored in place by concrete blocks and chains. The sealed, lockable shelter door sticks about eight inches above ground when the shelter is put into place.
A new business in Cottonwood Falls is offering residents of the area a peace of mind and a place to go during a storm.
Marvin Adcock and Ron Scott, co-owners of Kansas Graphics in Cottonwood Falls, decided recently to start offering fiberglass storm shelters from Southern Illinois Storm Shelters and formed Lifesaver Shelters of Kansas. Adcock said Kansas Graphics has been in the printing business for 30 years. Adcock and Scott used to offer storm shelters several years ago, but the supplier went out of business. Adcock said when he and Scott decided to get back in the shelter business, they checked out every company in the United States and found Illinois Shelters to offer the best.
“There were no dealers in Kansas,” Adcock said, adding that the business was offered the region of Kansas to sell the shelters.
The shelters they now offer are all fiberglass and can be installed in less than a day for the smaller models and day for larger models.
The shelters are made at Southern Illinois Storm Shelters. The company has been making shelters since 1998. In 2000, the company re-evaluated the model and released a redesigned version of the tornado shelter.
The shelters come fully assembled on a truck bed. From the outside, it is hard to tell what one is looking at. The vessel-like shelters resemble a tank from a distance. They are designed to be buried in the ground and anchored in place.. Models are available that can hold from four to 18 people.
A door opens to an underground fiberglass storm shelter. The steps are molded into the shelter.
The shelters have to be anchored because of the material they are made of.
“It’s fiberglass, so it’s like trying to bury a fishing bobber,” Adcock said. He said that if the ground gets wet enought, an unachored shelter would float out of the ground.
Each shelter has non-skid entrance steps, door seals, cross ventilation, molded bench seating and a glossy white gel-coat finish and multi-point door locking system with gas struts. The large versions also have powder-coated handrails for the steps.
Once the shelters are buried, the only visible sign of a shelter is a lid that sits about eight inches above the ground. The vents are in the lid and since the shelter is watertight, there’s no need to worry about critters, Adcock said. The shelters also are mobile and can be dug back up if a homeowner moves and wants to take the shelter along.
“It’s one of the things if you put it in the ground and you want to take it with you, you can and it’s quick,” Adcock said. “And it improves the value of your house.
Storm Shelters
Price List
4-Man Shelter: $2,625
6-Man Shelter: $3,525
10-Man Shelter: $4,800
12-Man Shelter: $5,250
18-Man Shelter: $7,500
• Prices don’t include installation, sales tax or freight. Freight is about $200 per unit.
For more
Information:
(620) 473-6111 or (800) 279-7343; lifesavershelters@sbcglobal.net
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