Safe and Sound
Sunday, March 7, 2010 at 02:37PM by Catherine Hart 
Visitors to GreenTown's Silo Eco-Home are now able to take a tour of a uniquely designed (and "green") tornado shelter. Situated in our garage, the New Day Tornado Shelter is on loan from Dirk DeRose of Tulsa. Dirk has a background in commercial aviation structures, and has designed safe shelters for thousands of military and civilian families. The model found in the Silo Home is for smaller households, and there are both indoor and outdoor types available. They are designed to withstand EF-5 force wind, which is the level of tornado that hit Greensburg in 2007.
The FAQ section on the New Day website contains a wealth of information in easy-to-understand language. We encourage readers who might be interested in this technology to check it out. Dirk has generously offered to provide residents of our county with free delivery. (Normally, he charges a dollar per mile from where the shelters are manufactured in Oklahoma.) He offers discounts to first responders and veterans, and special pricing for people who live in mobile homes.
Cleverly fashioned from propane tanks, the shelters are sustainably built, and New Day as a company is committed to eco-friendly policies and practices. A listing of their policies and practices can be found in the document, What Makes New Day Tornado Shelters Green.
Dirk will be on hand in Greensburg during Anniversary Weekend May 1-2 to visit with people about his product.
Reader Comments (1)
Usefull looking piece of equipment. I assume it is quite heavy. May need anchor bolts I guess.
Came on this after watching SKY TV (U.K.) programme about Greensburg's Arts Center' and looked up Greensburg on Internet.
It may interest you that during the German bombing of England, some factories employed similar constructions as bomb shelters, usually for nightwatchmen etc. Would not have resisted a direct bomb hit, but gave some protection from bomb shrapnel.
Hope Greensburg makes a speedy recovery.