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{{Short description|Nuclear fallout shelter in Canada}}
The '''Ark Two Shelter''' is a nuclear [[fallout shelter]] built by Bruce Beach (14 April 1934 – 10 May 2021)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Paula |date=2021-06-17 |title=Bruce Beach, known for Ark Two, passes at 87 |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/06/17/bruce-beach-known-for-ark-two-passes-at-87.html |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=Toronto Star |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> in the village of [[Horning's Mills, Ontario|Horning's Mills]] (north of [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]]).<ref name="16x9">{{cite episode |title=End of the world: How to survive Armageddon |series=[[16:9]] |date=February 25, 2012 |url=http://www.globalnews.ca/16x9/video/end+of+the+world+how+to+survive+armageddon/video.html?v=2202091152&p=7&s=dd#video |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115215820/http://www.globalnews.ca/16x9/video/end+of+the+world+how+to+survive+armageddon/video.html?v=2202091152&p=7&s=dd%23video |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 15, 2013 |network=[[Global Television Network]] |season=4 |number=14 |last=Jarvis |first=Carolyn (host) }}</ref> The shelter first became habitable in 1980 and has been continuously expanded and improved since then.<ref name="Ark-II">{{cite web |url=http://radmeters4u.com/arktwo/photoinside/photoin.htm |title=Bruce Beach Nuclear Survival Resources & Ark II Site |author=<!--Not stated--> |access-date=November 29, 2018 }}</ref> The {{Convert|10000|sqft|abbr=on|adj=on|order=flip}} shelter is composed of 42 [[school bus]]es, which were buried underground as [[Formwork|pattern]]s for concrete that was then poured over to provide the main structure, onto which up to 5 meters (14 feet) of earth were piled to provide [[Radiation protection|fallout protection]].<ref name="Popular Mechanics">{{cite journal |last1= Hasler|first1= Joe|year= 2009|title= 6 Safe, Strong—and Chic—Bomb Shelters You Can Buy Now|journal= [[Popular Mechanics]]|url= http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/engineering/architecture/4325649|accessdate= June 12, 2012}}</ref>
With construction beginning in the early 1980s (during the [[Cold War]]), the shelter was designed to accommodate as many as five hundred people<ref name="Doomsday Preppers">{{cite episode|title=It's Gonna Get Worse |series=Doomsday Preppers |date=March 27, 2012|url=http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/national-geographic-channel/shows/doomsday-preppers/ngc-bruces-ark/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323003854/http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/national-geographic-channel/shows/doomsday-preppers/ngc-bruces-ark/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 23, 2012 |network= [[National Geographic]] |season=1 |number=8 |last=|first=}}</ref> for the length of time required to allow the widespread [[nuclear fallout]] to decay to a level allowing a safe return to the surface after a cataclysmic nuclear event.
Powered by [[Redundancy (engineering)|redundant]] [[diesel generator]]s, the heavily fortified ("virtually impenetrable to anything short of a direct nuclear strike"<ref name="Popular Mechanics" />) shelter includes two commercial kitchens, full plumbing (including a private well for [[potable water]] and a [[motel]]-sized [[septic tank]]), three months' worth of diesel, a radio-based communications centre, a [[chapel]], and a [[Human decontamination|decontamination room]].<ref name="16x9" />
Ark Two is equipped with a communications room capable of broadcasting locally on the [[FM broadcasting|FM broadcast band]] and throughout [[Canada]] and the [[United States]] on the [[AM broadcasting|AM]] and [[Shortwave radio|Shortwave bands]].<ref name="Doomsday Preppers" /> A particularly novel feature is a collapsible, [[weather balloon|weather-balloon]]-deployed [[Antenna (radio)|antenna]], capable of being launched from within the shelter. All Ark Two communication equipment is [[Electromagnetic compatibility|EMP-hardened]] and generator-powered so as to be able to transmit survival information to the general public in the event of [[nuclear war]].
Beach did not charge money for admission to the shelter, instead guaranteeing individuals admission in return for [[Manual labor|sweat equity]] and active involvement in the Ark Two communities' various activities. In addition, "Everyone is welcome here, regardless of religion, race, nationality, political views..."<ref name="16x9" /> In return for the promise of safe haven in times of [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear]] attack, a person residing in nearby areas might be expected to, for example, work at the [[fallout shelter|shelter]] several weekends each year, assisting in the routine maintenance or continuing renovations of the facility. A large percentage of the shelter population is expected to be children, as the primary purpose of the shelter is to serve as an "underground orphanage, a place where a new generation could be saved from nuclear apocalypse," which, according to Beach, would otherwise wipe out over 80% of the world's population.<ref name="Doomsday Preppers" /> "We're going to say to people: 'Well, we have room for your children, but we don't have room for you.' That's the nature of life... this is the lifeboat."<ref name="Doomsday Preppers" />
Beach believed that the majority of [[Survivalist|preppers]] are too concerned with personal survival, when they should be focused on reconstructing the world after a cataclysmic disaster. He ran an online "reconstruction network" (the "SAFE" community) through which he shared information about Ark Two and his evacuation plans.<ref>{{cite web|title=Doomsday Preppers: It's Gonna Get Worse Tonight at 9P et/pt|url=http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.com/2012/03/27/doomsday-preppers-its-gonna-get-worse-tonight-at-9p-etpt/|work=National Geographic Channels|publisher=National Geographic|accessdate=3 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029215900/http://tvblogs.nationalgeographic.com/2012/03/27/doomsday-preppers-its-gonna-get-worse-tonight-at-9p-etpt/|archive-date=29 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Ark Two was featured in Beach's interview for [[National Geographic Channel|National Geographic]]'s ''[[Doomsday Preppers]]'', episode 8: "It's Gonna Get Worse". It was also featured on the [[Global Television Network]] series ''[[16:9 (TV series)|16:9]]'', and on the [[Showtime (TV channel)|Showtime]] series ''[[Penn & Teller: Bullshit!]]'' episode "[[List_of_Penn_%26_Teller:_Bullshit!_episodes#Season_1_(2003)|End of the World]]" and How the World Ends - "Nostradamus".
Beach died on May 10, 2021, of a heart attack.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The Ark Two, Canada's largest private bunker, has lost its Noah {{!}} Globalnews.ca|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8023345/ark-two-bunker-bruce-beach-dead-canada/|access-date=2021-07-17|website=Global News|language=en-US}}</ref>
Beach has authored two related books: ''Society After Doomsday'' and ''TRIAD Individual Networking: Preparedness For Disastrous Times''.
==See also==
*''[[Nuclear War Survival Skills]]''
*[[Emergency Government Headquarters]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.webpal.org Official website of the shelter and the Ark Two Community]
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[[Category:Buildings and structures in Dufferin County]]
[[Category:Survivalism]]
[[Category:Radiation protection]]
[[Category:Nuclear fallout]]
[[Category:Subterranea (geography)]]