Posted: 5/31/2007 12:33:51 PM EDT
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BUFFALO Man found living in a bunker underground By Dan Herbeck NEWS STAFF REPORTER Updated: 05/29/07 6:40 AM James O’Neill calls it the most amazing thing he has seen in 23 years as a Buffalo firefighter. Sunday, while investigating a fire, O’Neill found a man living in a six-foot deep underground bunker in an isolated area of the northern section of the city. The bunker has heat, lights, insulation, a bedroom with a foam bed and a fireplace. It also has a bathroom, O’Neill said. “It’s not the Marriott hotel by any means, but this man has made it comfortable down there,” O’Neill said. “He cooks his meals, eats and has been sleeping down there for about six years. “Some people would call him homeless, but he’s a clean, well-spoken guy. When I spoke to him, he was reading a novel by Joseph Wambaugh.” The bunker is 20 feet long and 16 feet wide and is divided into two rooms — essentially, a bedroom and a bathroom, O’Neill said. It has a ceiling made of wood and roofing material. The bedroom walls are covered with insulation and plastic tarps. The bathroom has a small portable toilet. The man told O’Neill it took him two years to dig the home. “He told me it’s a peaceful and tranquil place to live,” said O’Neill, who works as investigator in the city fire marshals office. O’Neill told a reporter about his visit with the man Monday night but would not reveal the man’s name or the specific location of the bunker home. “I don’t want all kinds of people going out there and bothering this man,” O’Neill said. “He has a ladder leading down into the place, and I had a very eerie feeling going down there, like something from ‘Psycho.’ But it wasn’t bad at all down there.” The fire investigator said the man is a 47-year-old military veteran. The man occasionally makes a few dollars doing odd jobs. He uses old car batteries to light his bunker home. He cooks food in a “hot pot.” The man enjoys living in isolation but has some strong opinions, O’Neill said. “He’s got an ‘Honor Indian Treaties’ sign inside the place and a ‘Go Sabres’ sign outside it,” the investigator said. [email protected] Link |