(WSIL) -- One local business says sales are growing for storm shelters.
Rusty Baker, co-owner of Baker and Sons Plumbing, deals in more than just plumbing. His company has been installing storm shelters for years. He says they've been an interest of his since seeing the Marion Tornado up close in 1982.
"That's kind of what got me interested in having a safe place to go."
Carterville resident Kenneth Boden, says while he remembers the Marion tornado well, it was recent tornado coverage in Oklahoma that drove him to actually buy a storm shelter.
"And when they showed an area, they showed one of these still standing."
Baker says more people are making that choice as more and more homes are being built without basements.
"Me personally, I'm not seeing very many basements being dug anywhere anymore, so."
Boden's home is relatively new, and doesn't have a basement.
"I decided it was time to have a place to go if there's storms."
Baker says homes with basements are becoming less common because of their cost.
"Instead of spending 40, or $50,000 on a basement, they can spend you know, in the $5,000 range to have a shelter put in."
In addition to storm shelters being a cheaper option, you can also put them anywhere. Baker says some newly constructed homes are being built around them.
"And this is being turned into the master closet, or a pantry or something inside the home, and then being built around it."
Rated to withstand an EF-5 tornado, Baker says these shelters can also hold up under as much as 130,000 pounds.
"They exceed everything that FEMA requires."
"I feel 90% safe, and I'm not a 100% person," Boden says.
