Ark Two Shelter
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The Ark Two Shelter is the world's largest privately constructed nuclear fallout shelter.[citation needed] Built over the last several decades by Bruce Beach, in the village of Horning's Mills (north of Toronto, Ontario), the 10,000 square foot shelter is composed of 42 school buses, which were buried underground as molds for concrete that was then poured over to provide the main structure, onto which up to twelve feet of earth were piled to provide fallout protection.
With construction beginning in the early 1980s (during the height of the cold war), the shelter was designed to accommodate as many as one thousand people for the length of time required (potentially months) to allow the widespread radioactive fallout to decay to a level allowing a safe return to the surface after a cataclysmic nuclear event.
Powered by redundant diesel generators, the heavily fortified shelter includes two commercial kitchens, full plumbing (including a private well for potable water and a motel-sized septic tank), three-months worth of diesel, a radio based communications center, a chapel, and a decontamination room.
Ark Two is equipped with a communications room capable of broadcasting locally on the FM broadcast band, and throughout Canada and the United States on the AM and Shortwave Bands. A particularly novel feature is a collapsible, weather balloon deployed antenna, capable of being launched from within the shelter. All Ark Two communication equipment is EMP hardened and generator powered so as to be able to transmit survival information to the general public in the event of nuclear war.
Beach does not charge money for admission to the shelter, instead guaranteeing individuals admission in return for sweat equity and active involvement in the Ark Two communities' various activities. In return for the promise of safe haven in times of nuclear attack, a person residing in nearby areas might be expected, for example, to work at the shelter several weekends each year, assisting in the routine maintenance or continuing renovations of the facility.
Ark Two was featured in Bruce Beach's interview for National Geographic's "Doomsday Preppers", episode 8: "It's Gonna Get Worse".
Ark Two was featured in a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation special "16:9" (original air date: February 2012)
Ark Two and Bruce Beach were featured in the Showtime series "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" season one episode four: "End of the World".
Bruce Beach has authored two related books: "Society After Doomsday" (ISBN 978-0-919553-20-0) and "TRIAD Individual Networking: Preparedness For Disastrous Times" (ISBN 978-0-919553-50-7)
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