Ark Two Shelter
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A civilian-built nuclear bunker, the Ark Two is touted as the largest privately constructed nuclear fallout shelter in the world.
Located in the small town of Horning's Mills, north of Toronto, Ontario, the shelter was constructed out of the shells of 42 school buses which were buried underground in the 1980s, as moulds for the poured concrete bunker.
Powered by diesel generators, the heavily fortified shelter includes two kitchens, a septic tank, a private buried well, a chapel, x-ray machine and decontamination room. The shelter was designed to accommodate as many as one thousand people for the length of time required to stay underground before being able to safely return to the surface after a cataclysmic nuclear event.
After serving in the US Army in the 1960s, builder Bruce M. Beach moved to Canada in the 1970s, citing concerns that he might be interned in the United States.
On December 29th 1999, two days before some feared nuclear war might break out as a result of the Y2K Bug, police raided the shelter looking for weapons or explosives. Estimates suggest approximately 40 officers took part, although some were with the local firefighting brigade which questioned the safety of the compound.
In season 1, episode 4 of the TV show Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, Bruce Beach gave a tour of the complex on camera- from above ground, as the fire department had sealed the doors and forbade entry citing the possible safety risks of the structure.
The shelter is to be featured in an upcoming episode of a National Geographic television special entitled "Doomsday Preppers", which on air started on February 7, 2012.
Builder Bruce Beach is the author of two books, "Society After Doomsday" (ISBN 978-0-919553-20-0) and "TRIAD Individual Networking: Preparedness For Disastrous Times". He is a former Professor of Economics and is currently the only civilian (non-military) Radiological Scientific Officer in Canada.
[edit] External links
- Official website of the shelter and the Ark Two Community
- It currently distributes a free informational Nuclear Survival Resource CD Via BitTorrent
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