BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – During extreme weather threats, you have heard WBRC’s First Alert weather team repeatedly tell you to enter your safe space or shelter, and a local business says they are now seeing a increased demand for home shelters.

Steve Swalley owns Vulcan Storm Shelters in Homewood, and he said they were getting more calls than ever from people wanting to know how quickly they could get shelter at home.

Swalley said demand was increasing, with many of his customers calling due to increased extreme weather conditions lately. He said many callers are scared and have had bad experiences with the weather. Vulcan Storm Shelters offers five different types of home shelters, but Swalley says they are seeing an increase in indoor and outdoor security rooms.

“I see people my age who can’t go underground anymore,” he said. “They physically can’t do it or they can’t put their pets underground. So we see people going to safe rooms in the house and safe rooms outside, where they are very safe.

Swalley says all of its shelters are modeled after FEMA guidelines and tested with wind science research.

“We put them in closets, bedrooms or garages,” Swalley said. “We can now custom build anything and they are modular shelters. In fact, we build them on site, they are very popular. »

Swalley said depending on the shelter you want…it can take anywhere from four to 16 weeks before it’s installed. But, he said that doesn’t mean you’re too late for this stormy season. You can order all year round, because as we have seen before, storms can arise in Alabama at any time.

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