Damaged vehicles and personal property are strewn over a wide area along Kentucky 81, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Bremen, Ky, after a devastating tornado swept through the area on Friday night. Eight members of a family, and two dogs, were spared when they sought shelter in the family's prefabricated storm shelter. (Greg Eans/The Messenger-Inquirer via AP)AP

Storm shelters are rarely found in homes these days. But a family in Bremen, Kentucky is thankful that one was installed at their home years ago by a forward-thinking patriarch. It hadn’t been used before, but the night of Dec. 10, 2021, it saved the lives of eight family members and two dogs, according to various reports.

According to KSDK 5 News, Jordan Evans and his son Gage were fortunate to be out of town the night deadly storms and tornadoes struck western Kentucky. However, Gage’s mom and the rest of his family were at home — in a house with no basement and directly in the tornado’s path.

There was no place in the house to get underground, but just next door was a storm shelter built roughly 10 years ago for just such an occasion. Before the tornado passed over, Justin Pointer, Gage’s stepdad, led his eight family members and two dogs to safety, down into the cramped space — 10 feet deep by 12 feet wide, KSDK 5 reported.

“It started shaking the lid real bad, we had to hold it down,” Pointer said, according to KSDK 5. He also said the space, while tight and uncomfortable, provided much-needed shelter after the storm passed — destroying their house as it went.

While Pointer’s dad couldn’t recall its cost to install, both father and son agreed that you couldn’t put a price on their family’s safety.

About his dad, Pointer noted: “He said he’d pay a hundred times more for it right now,” KSDK 5 quoted.

The news report noted that prefabricated storm shelters can be purchased, and many models for less than $10,000.

A YouTube video shows the storm shelter, as well as the Pointer’s destroyed home:

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