Saving Lives: A New Breed of Tornado Storm Shelter
Norman, OK (PRWEB) July 10, 2013 -- Oklahoma Igloo LLC, a Norman OK. Company announces the development of a new breed of above ground life-saving tornado storm shelter. This new shelter, the Oklahoma Igloo™ provides a safe, comfortable, inviting retreat for those residents of Tornado Alley where recently many, including school children have lost lives after being repeatedly hit by deadly EF5 tornadoes.
“If you can leave... do it now, get on the highway” advised a local TV station in Oklahoma on May 20, 2013. Hoping to outrun the storms, thousands left the relative safety of their homes and headed on to gridlocked freeways with miles-long backups. Luckily for them, the tornado did not make a wrong turn onto these major highways, the result would have been catastrophic carnage. The Oklahoma Igloo™ gives the family that secure feeling of safety and comfort which means that they never have to leave home. When the warning sirens go off, they simply retreat to their Oklahoma Igloo™ on their patio, in their garage, or in their backyard.
Former University of Oklahoma engineering professor and Stanford doctorate, Dr. Henry Crichlow along with his worldwide team have developed the Oklahoma Igloo™, a 21st century shelter. The shelter provides safety, security and inviting comfort for families during some of the most destructive weather events as have been experienced in recent weeks. With two patents pending (US 61/851,913), (US 29/442,611) and other patents in the pipeline, this new approach to storm shelter technology incorporates a new type of thinking. The company has incorporated human behavior into its design.
A new “Triple 8” construction technique uses 8 interlocking prefabricated concrete shells with 8 inches of concrete, bolted together horizontally and vertically onto 8 solid foundation piers. It is further strengthened by circular 30,000 psi steel cables as used in modern day bridge building. “This rapidly deployable “888” shelter is the safest, coolest, hippest, most inviting and iconic tornado shelter on the planet,” says Crichlow. In addition, the new shelter utilizes modern wind tunnel studies, structural engineering, psychological analysis and novel manufacturing concepts that to date, have not been routinely utilized in the shelter industry but have been used in aerospace and in 21st century reinforced concrete construction industries. The Oklahoma Igloo™ is capable of resisting the most dangerous and critical tornado weather forces.
“Entering cramped underground shelters often produces undue fears and anxieties as well as claustrophobic reactions which can seriously impair and traumatize some individuals in times of danger and risk,” said Dr. Raymond Fuchs, an Oklahoma psychologist with extensive trauma experience.To minimize traumatic reactions the Igloo is above ground, it is clearly appealing to the residents providing a very high degree of personal comfort and safety.
The Oklahoma Igloo™ learns from Mother Nature, it has no corners. The shape deflects the tornado winds and dangerous flying debris around and away from the structure and its wind tunnel design with its proprietary shape, allows for maximum strength, maximum safety and minimum use of materials, thereby lowering overall cost of manufacturing the shelters. This Oklahoma Igloo™ system is sustainable, it uses less material, it lowers personnel needs during construction, its unique design allows it to be moved relatively easily from one location to another if needed, by the original buyer.
A recent survey by FEMA after the Oklahoma May 2013 tornadoes showed 11 above ground shelters that provided adequate safety and whose occupants survived the EF5 winds. The Oklahoma Igloo™ patent pending design is better than these 11 systems surveyed. The Oklahoma Igloo™ design meets and exceeds all FEMA and other regulatory statutes and is also reassuringly inviting to the user.
Oklahoma Igloo LLC is currently utilizing a leading Internet platform Indiegogo to increase its technology appeal to wider audiences domestically and worldwide. The Oklahoma Igloo™ tornado shelter competes in price with existing tornado shelter models. Deliveries are expected in the first quarter of 2014.
Contact information: Oklahoma Igloo LLC, Dr. Henry Crichlow,
Phone: 405-426-5067, Fax 877-828-0930
Email: henry.crichlow(at)sbcglobal(dot)net
330 W Gray St, Suite 504, Norman, OK. 73069
Henry Crichlow, OKLAHOMA IGLOO LLC, http://oklahomaigloo.com/, +1 (405) 426-5067, [email protected]
Share this article