This website, is for a company named Utah Shelter Systems™, which has been installing 'All Hazard Sheltering' for families across the US since 1984. Their comprehensive website provides the curious family with images like these:
Kitchen, bunks, dining and storage spaces
Now, doesn't that look just like home!
Before anyone scrambles to phone them up for an installation job, I should mention that these shelters do not come cheap. An average fallout shelter for a family, which comes "equipped with two sets single and two sets double bunks", should cost you between 40,000USD to 55,000USD. Any additional furniture, such as the kitchen sink and counter (VERY necessary), would cost you at least several thousand dollars more. Of course, if you have to stay in one of these for a good decade or so, wouldn't you want to make it as comfortable as possible?
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One thing which I was unable to understand was that a company like this could still be in business today, and that people today would actually feel that they still need services like these. Well the FAQ section of the website provided me with some kind of answers to that doubt, and now I finally understand what all the fuss is about. Below are some excerpts:
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Seldom do all members of a family have the same levels of concern, and it is sometimes frustrating to justify these protective measures to those we care about the most.
We have been asked, numerous times, to expound on the following statements that have been genuinely made by others:
1. I would not want to be the only one to survive.
2. I may not be at home when I need the shelter.
3. There are no more “real” threats to our country.
4. The government will take care of us.
The following is our response to these concerns:
1. I would not want to be the only one to survive:
Our Answer:
According to the worst-case scenario forecasts prepared by the Department of Defense in 2002, the short-term casualties that would be derived from a full onslaught nuclear attack (Russia and / or China) would approximate 30% - 35% of our population with and additional 30% - 35% of our population dying over the following 6-8 weeks from starvation, dehydration, disease, inclement weather, contamination, attack, etc. In this forecasted worst case, 30% of our citizens would survive to start over and rebuild our country. At 290,000,000 people and growing, this means that almost 100,000,000 Americans would survive. Yes, we would be starting over and it would be hard at times. We would be living in a 3rd world country for a period of time. But, unlike our pioneer ancestors, we still have the knowledge and information from before, to build upon.
2. I may not be at home when I need my shelter.
Our answer:
Government war strategists are in agreement that a full-scale nuclear attack would most probably occur during the night or early morning or during a national holiday. ‘Night time’ in America is ‘Day time’ in the countries of our most likely enemies. Our enemies would want to strike while we were asleep.
Most people do not work or live in the vicinity of prime targets, providing time for them to return to their shelters in the event of a full-scale nuclear or terrorist attack.
People who have prepared shelters are aware of their surroundings and in tune to escalating crises and the warning signs They have also pre-planned expedient sheltering capabilities and evacuation routes.
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3. There are no “real” threats from which we need to be protected. Russia and China are our friends. The cold war is over. The government has the terrorists under control.
Our answer:
We have been preparing and building shelters for over 21 years, but we are continually amazed at the number of people who don’t recognize or believe that any “real” threats exist. Upon further questioning we most often find that the vast majority of these people do not read a daily newspaper nor watch a daily news broadcast. They are consumed with sporting events and spend their money on useless toys.
Many people refuse to consider the possibility of an attack, because they believe nuclear war is not survivable. If there is nothing one can do, one tends to do nothing. They receive all their information from the media, which consistently tells them this is true. If we can educate these people to the real and fundamental effects of nuclear weapons, they may see that nuclear war is, in fact, very survivable and prepare accordingly.
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4. The government will take care of us.
Our Answer:
There is a wide spread misconception that public shelters exist throughout the country. Some countries, such as Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, North Korea, China and Russia have provided shelters for a good portion of their population. It has been estimated by American strategists that about 30% of the population of the world have radiation and blast shelters. Russia has constructed multiple underground industrial communities. Switzerland, has provided 100% of their population with hardened NBC shelters.
Our own government has provided hardened underground facilities for high ranking government officials and their families as well as for our critical mission personnel.
My family members are my ‘critical mission personnel’. Where are the shelters for my family? The answer to this question is that we, as citizens, have not been willing to demand this level of protection for ourselves, nor have we been willing to be taxed to this level of protection. Legislation providing shelters will not occur until we demand it. Current localized disasters have proven that our government is there to assist us, but not to save us in widespread emergencies. More and more Americans are awakening to the reality that the world has become a dangerous place, and as a result, they are purchasing shelters for themselves and their loved ones.
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(Read more on the FAQ page of Utah Shelter Systems.)
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I have to admit, that FAQ page did make me have a sudden urge to want to install a fallout shelter in my backyard.
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(The above photos and information were all retrieved from the website of Utah Shelter Systems™.)
Upon partially reviewing your account and references concerning the Utah Shelter Systems [all hazard shelters], I was overwhelmed. Besides, it made me ‘flash back’ at the movies/films we previously studied including ‘the Atomic Café’.
ReplyDeleteBefore going further, I would like to draw your attention again at the ‘notable quote’ from ‘the Atomic Café’ about the US Military man’s address to the Bikini Islanders which reads, “Alright now James, will you tell them that the United States government… now wants to turn this GREAT DESTRUCTIVE FORCE into something good for mankind… and that this experiment here at Bikini are the first step in that direction.”
I would like to support this military man’s argument based on our film studies that the Americans have always try to show the very best out of the ‘Great Destructive Force’ [A-Bomb] for mankind. For instance, in ‘the Blast from the Past’ and ‘the Atomic Café’, Bomb or fallout shelters were used by the Americans against fallout from the ‘A’ or H-bomb. In ‘the Manhattan Project’, ‘the Blast from the Past’ as well as Hachigatsu no Rapusodi (1991), there was some family reconciliation as the result of this ‘great destructive force’.
Nowadays, the idea of the Bomb Shelters which were built against the ‘great destructive force’ is been partly used by the Utah Shelter Systems to build what they call ‘all hazard shelters’. This one is not only against fallout from bombs, but they claim the ‘all hazard shelter’, “must withstand violent earth movement from severe earthquakes; high velocity winds from tornados and hurricanes; invasion from mobs; heavy overpressures from nuclear blast; all types of radiations; wild fires; and air contamination from fallout and chemical and biological war gasses.” Read more about all hazard shelters here.