SHELTER ON A QUIET STREET

[Music] five o'clock the end of the day an hour when most of us haven't much on our minds except getting home to our families as fast as we can but even at a time like this you can run into something that makes a man stop and think [Music] downtown fallout shelter capacity eleven hundred and thirty-eight now being stocked with food water medical and sanitation kits radiological monitoring equipment everything needed to shelter and sustain the people who work in this building if a crisis ever comes to them this sign spells protection to me it spells just another small part of a very big job I'm Hank Adams the city's civil defense director and the thing I keep remembering is the need for protection doesn't stop at five pm it goes right on when these people go home to all the houses on the quiet streets where they spend the rest of their hours but the fact is today we live in a world where danger could strike with a minimum of warning in less time than it takes the average man to drive home at the end of the day there's no perfect protection against nuclear attack of course if it ever comes there's no telling whether our town would be hit or spared and no way of protecting against the destruction of blast and heat there's not much any shelter can do about that but one thing we can do something about and that's radioactive fallout it could drift on the winds for tens or hundreds of miles it could strike down a town that hadn't even been touched by direct attack without shelter from it a lot of people could die needlessly we don't aim to let that happen we've made a good deal of progress in our community fallout shelter program a lot more than you might suspect the National shelter's survey turned up more than 120 buildings here in town with enough heavy shielding already built in to meet the government standards but of course there's still a way to go before we reach our final goal protection for every man woman and child shelter always in range wherever they might be day or night around-the-clock we're going to need more shelter space for that in some places where there's not quite enough of it now where are we going to find it well some of it will come through new construction designed with the need for fallout shelter in mind some of it in industrial plants where management knows that a company's most irreplaceable asset doesn't lie in the machines but in the experience and the skills of the men who run them some will come through improvements made by building owners at their own expense for the protection of their customers and tenants we're going to have to build added shielding into many of our schools in our hospitals to where they'd play a vital role in any emergency that might come finally some of the new shelter space will need will have to be found on quiet streets like this with it's not a fallout shelter sign in sight of course that doesn't mean there's no shelter here take this house for example belongs to the Warren family that's Betsy Warren and one of her boys the house doesn't look much different from any of its neighbors it has the usual mortgage and an unfinished attic that will have to wait it also had an unfinished basement that couldn't and that makes it a small but vital part of our plan the plan of protection for everyone where he works and where he lives I remember when Fred and Betsy Warren first came to see me last summer they've been thinking about the problem of fallout protection trying to decide just what would be best for their family for most people and in most places the answer probably lies in using the nearest community shelter but for others a family shelter may seem the best solution perhaps because they live too far away from a community shelter or simply because they want the family together in time of emergency with the Warrens it was a little of both this is the above-ground shelter it's often constructed in areas where surface water Iraq make it impractical to build a shelter on the ground now these double walls are built of solid concrete blocks and measure 4 by 8 by 16 inches and when this shelter is finished each wall will be at least 3 feet thick from here to here and this space in between the walls will have to be filled up with gravel or earth and the roof will be covered by a thick layer of gravel what about these pipes here well this one is the air intake and this one is the air exhaust and inside you'll have a blower to circulate fresh air now this one is a pre shaped metal shelter it's basically a shell made up of metal sections and when the shell is finished is covered with not less than 3 feet of Earth that provides the mass you'd need now this third one is a basement shelter and while the construction of the first two probably would require the services of a contractor they'll be able to make this one yourselves who me you know I don't know the first thing about building wouldn't either did I when I started working out mine would you've seen it worked out fine you can fill this right in the corner of your basement you already have two of the walls then all you have to build are these walls and the roof yeah with a little good planning and some advice maybe I could build it myself you know we could put it over in the corner where the baby crib and that other stuff is well sure you could build it try to clear the window otherwise I'd have to fill it up what about this last one this one is an underground concrete shelter it's constructed entirely of poured concrete reinforced with steel bars and like the pre shaped metal one it would be covered with earth you probably need a contractor to build this one too Fred how about the cost of these well at the fans it'll vary depending on the size the type you want say wait a minute I think I still have some of the cost estimates that Margaret and I got before we build ours they ought to give you some elbow I gave them my own estimates and booklets showing various low-cost Family Shelter designs with the plans on how to build them Fred chose the basement shelter type and figured out the cost of materials it came to less than a hundred dollars the cost of labour well it would have been modest enough if he'd called on a contractor but in Fred's case it came to exactly nothing since he decided to build it himself and he had to willing young helpers tails volts looks like we're all set okay you fellas can mix the mortar well I thought you know these guys the easiest way to make a straight line is to use a chalk string the boys used a pre-mixed mortar all they had to do was add water and stir after the outline of the shelter walls was drawn fred was ready to start laying the first blocks you fellas can bring in some more blocks while I start spreading this mortar okay Fred started at the right angle corner of the shelter walls he's spread enough mortar to ensure a good solid joint between the floor and the blocks [Music] he carefully set the block firmly into place then he checked to make sure the block was leveled adjustments were made while the mortar was still wet [Music] Fred then spread mortar for the second block which was set at a right angle to the first one before laying the block he spread mortar on one end this ensured that the space between the blocks would be well filled with mortar [Music] he checked the level again and adjusted the block along both its length and width he used a carpenter's square to make sure the two blocks formed a true right angle credit extended the shelter walls along the chalk lines on the floor the first course now was completed Fred returned to the right angle corner to start the second course [Music] he laid the blocks in this course so that each block covered the joint between the blocks below the slight excess of mortar showed Freddie was using enough fred was following good construction techniques and the walls were rising as planned [Music] he's now built the right angle corners six courses hi [Music] good you fellas keep the box coming I'm going to set up the small guideline [Music] [Applause] now Fred stretched a guideline along the outer face of a shelter wall [Music] this helped him place the next blocks correctly [Music] [Applause] [Music] well not bad for amateurs I what about that fire - hi well how does it look looks great well I think you hard-working men on a quick now it's getting late new to F school tomorrow yeah you better turn in fellas I'll be up in a minute yeah we got work to do I know but tomorrow's another day come on let's go I'll be up soon I just want to lay one more block night while Fred and the boys were busy on the construction Betsy had been planning the food stock to be kept in the shelter she chose food that included as many family favorites as possible she had to stock enough food and other supplies in the shelter to last the family at least two weeks to avoid staleness and spoilage and possible waste these foods should be rotated into a regular menus every few months and replaced with fresh shelter supplies she selected container sizes that would eliminate problems with leftovers [Music] Fred and the boys had already spent several evenings on the shelter and now the walls were definitely taking shape Saturday again and the walls were almost up the outer walls were ready for the roof structure but friends let the mortar between the blocks set for a day before starting on the roof the first step in constructing the roof was to bolt upright posts to the foundation walls the posts were weather treated to prevent rotting due to dampness Fred used seven inch bolts with expansion sleeves before placing the first joist Fred used a small block of wood to keep it in place while Tony Lee [Music] Fred slid the double joist over the walls at the entrance to the shelter it's over to you Fred placed a brace between the joists for lateral support [Music] the toenail the end of the joist to the wall beam [Music] hito nailed the wooden brace to the joist to hold the joists securely on edge the same procedure was followed with the next joist [Music] Fred check the joists to make sure they were all solidly nailed you braces were also placed between the joists where they passed over the shelter wall one on the inside one on the outside this formed a wooden box Fred then fill the box with mortars to make this space sufficiently dense [Music] to lay the roof Fred slipped roof boards into place and nail them to the joists then he placed blocks on the roof boards two courses of blocks were laid no mortar was needed to hold them in position [Music] before the roof could be completed the exposed ends of the joists had to be covered with blocks Fred set a block on edge and moved it into place the hollow space behind the block was then filled with mortar [Music] okay why don't you kids wait upstairs for Mom she'll be home in a few minutes have a glass of milk and rest a while I'll finish up here okay see you later dad right [Music] Betsie stored our food supplies the Warrens already had put in many of the things they'd need for an emergency enough water for 14 days an emergency first aid kit enough bedding a few cooking utensils emergency tools almost everything they'd need to live here if the day ever comes did you pick up the radio right here Fred brought down the last few important items a portable radio and a few extra batteries a small cooking stove a flashlight did you get all that all right put them neatly under the bed and I'll fix it later [Music] you look at the Warren house and it doesn't look any different than it did before just an ordinary house on a quiet street but something's been added something that could be important a well-stocked family fallout shelter a small but useful addition to our overall community shelter plan the plan of protection for everyone not only where he works but where he lives like all Americans the Warren's hope the time never comes when it must be used but if it's needed it'll be there 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