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Jon Sims was looking to move into a new home after being in his current one for quite some time. After talking with friends, he realized his one good friend was selling their house and if he wanted it, he had first look at it. So Jon checks the condition of the house and it’s everything he’s looking for, so he buys it from his pal. Jon has heard rumors about there being an underground “bunker” on the property for years so after enough research and hard work, what he finds is nothing short of amazing.
Moved In
Jon Sims moved into what was once his friend’s home, and he wanted to debunk the rumors going around that there is an underground bunker on his property.
After Some Hard Work And Research
Jon has been spending quite some time researching the property and talking with previous owners. After two weeks into living there, Jon had found what he thought was never there to begin with.Â
No More Rumors
Sims’ friend who had formerly owned the property never believed anything about the hatch, which is why he had never tried finding it.
All The Way Back To The Cold War
During the Cold War back in the 1960s, 18 nuclear warheads had been stationed in the desert around Tucson, ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice. This information led Sims’ friend to suspect that maybe the hatch might lead to some kind of secret fallout shelter beneath the property.
Needed To Get In There
 Nothing Down There? Maybe..
At first, Sim’s excavations revealed absolutely nothing, and he feared that the hatch and whatever was beneath it was gone for good. He even questioned if it had ever existed at all.
Grab The Buckets
He decided to employ the services of a specialist, who used metal detectors to inspect the yard and determine the best areas in which he should dig. His first suggestion turned up nothing, but then, on the second attempt, they struck gold.
Sim’s Work Paid Off
Underneath a three foot mound of earth, Sims uncovered a metal hatch exactly like the one his friend had told him about. Eager to find out what was inside, he pried open the covering.
So Who’s Going To Check That?
As Sims was a specialist in confined space rescues for the fire department, he knew exactly how dangerous it could be to venture down through the hatch alone, especially without any proper preparation. He invited some coworkers around with equipment to test that the air was safe.
Alone? Yeah Right!
He also knew that he needed to have other people around for his own safety. “I know too much about confined space and I was alone at home,” he said. “Especially if the lid fell back in, there was no way I could lift it from underneath it.”
What Do We Have Here?
Buried beneath his backyard, he found the fallout shelter that his friend had suspected lay there all along. And, on the plus side, it was in surprisingly good condition.
Surprisingly Good Condition
The fallout shelter consisted of a spiral staircase plunging some ten feet below the ground, leading into a tall domed building with a diameter of around 12 feet.
A Wonderful Place To Hide
The shelter would have been used to provide a safe space for residents of the property to go to in the event of a nuclear blast. An air filtration system existed to pump safe air from the surface to the people hiding below.
Making It Look Presentable
Sims estimates that it was filled in at some time between the late 1960s and the mid-1970s, a period of relaxing of political tensions when the U.S. pursued arms limitation treaties with the Soviet Union.
The Renovation Of The Hatch
If you were to stop at Sim’s home, he can be found hard at work restoring the shelter to its former glory. He used buckets to remove all of the rubble from the structure by hand.
One Little Cool Find
Sims did find one cool thing in the hatch. He came across an emergency drinking water can. Canned water? Weird right?
The Future Of The Hatch
Sims plans to tackle a rebuild of the staircase leading down into the shelter. He has also been searching for period props to complete the whole look. Now he’s considering options for space for once it is finally restored.
The Final Plan
Lots of people thought the space would make the perfect “man cave” complete with surround sound, while others noted that its year-round cool temperature would make for an ideal wine cellar. Whatever Sims decides to do with the shelter, he certainly got more than he bargained for when taking on his new home.