[bunkerbob]

Wow, a man after my own heart, just found this on another site...
Austin news, sports, weather, Longhorns, business | Statesman.com

Originally Posted by Statesman.com

Multi-level bunker found under East Austin home
By Claudia Grisales


City code enforcement officials are assessing what to do next with an East Austin home after a man built an extensive bunker below it that drew a team of emergency personnel to the site Saturday morning, a city official said Tuesday.

Jose Del Rio, a Vietnam War veteran, built a “multi-level” underground structure about 20 to 25 feet below the home, said Doug Matthews, director of communications for the City of Austin.

Matthews said code enforcement officials visited the home at 2006 Canterbury in East Austin early last week after receiving a complaint of possible excavation there. Del Rio, a retiree, was cooperative and showed the officials the underground structure, Matthews said.

“The code officers went out to investigate it and the individual was fairly cooperative and showed them what he had been working on, which turned out to be a multi-level underground structure,” Matthews said.

There were two levels, and a third hole below those levels, Matthews said.

They “had some concerns about the structural integrity of the building and the contents of what was down there,” he said.

The officials said the visit triggered plans to execute a warrant at the home and have Austin police and fire personnel, including members of the police SWAT team, police bomb squad and Austin Fire’s search and rescue operations team, do a full sweep of the home, Matthews said.

The warrant was executed shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday. Neighbors were asked to leave and the home was searched for more than four hours as emergency personnel staged units at nearby Metz Elementary School, Matthews said.

Among the items recovered were several weapons, two inert grenades and several 55-gallon barrels that turned out to be empty, Matthews said.

Matthews said officials are working with Del Rio to figure out whether the home is salvageable, and current living arrangements for him through Adult Protective Services since he is a senior citizen, Matthews said.

It’s not immediately clear whether Del Rio will face any charges, or at the least, code violations, which could result in fines, Matthews said. He said that Del Rio built the bunker by himself, but he did not know how long it took him to build it.

A code enforcement official said Tuesday that several departments would be meeting about the case Thursday to assess what would happen next.

Hey Dean what do you think, in your own backyard, so to speak.

[TechAdmin]

I think if it's structurally sound they need to leave him alone. On the east side of Austin the property value is abysmal and the condition of the houses is about the same. It really wouldn't take much to cause an accident if the bunker is not structurally sound.

[NaeKid]

I figure that if the guy wants to build his own cave to live in like Batman - he should be allowed to. Now, as long as the house doesn't cave-in while he is inside and doesn't take out the neighbor's places, he should be able to do with his property what he sees fit.

Here in Calgary, the down-town towers all go 4 to 6 stories underground and there isn't any problems with those ... he is only 2.5 stories down ... who really cares.

[mosquitomountainman]

"...The officials said the visit triggered plans to execute a warrant at the home and have Austin police and fire personnel, including members of the police SWAT team, police bomb squad and Austin Fire’s search and rescue operations team, do a full sweep of the home, Matthews said.

The warrant was executed shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday. Neighbors were asked to leave and the home was searched for more than four hours as emergency personnel staged units at nearby Metz Elementary School, Matthews said.

Among the items recovered were several weapons, two inert grenades and several 55-gallon barrels that turned out to be empty, Matthews said.

Matthews said officials are working with Del Rio to figure out whether the home is salvageable, and current living arrangements for him through Adult Protective Services since he is a senior citizen, Matthews said.

It’s not immediately clear whether Del Rio will face any charges, or at the least, code violations, which could result in fines, Matthews said. He said that Del Rio built the bunker by himself, but he did not know how long it took him to build it.

A code enforcement official said Tuesday that several departments would be meeting about the case Thursday to assess what would happen next."


Scary, the over-reaction of the government. Adult Protective Services? SWAT team? Bomb squad? Fire department? Search and rescue? Evacuate the neighborhood?

Makes you wonder. A kid brings a pocketknife to school and faces prosecution. A guy excavates a bunker and the city activates all emergency and law enforcement agencies to investigate. Thousands of illegal aliens streaming across the border and the national media cry foul when a state simply wants to see national immigration laws enforced and federal government wrings their hands in defeat. Seems the only time they have gonads is when they're up against children and old men.

[NaeKid]

MtnMan - the part that really stands out for me ...

Matthews said code enforcement officials visited the home at 2006 Canterbury in East Austin early last week after receiving a complaint of possible excavation there. Del Rio, a retiree, was cooperative and showed the officials the underground structure, Matthews said.

A complaint from a nosy-neighbor got way too many departments involved when the guy was cooperative and showed the officials the underground structure. I'll bet that Jose Del Rio proudly showed the officials around, because, he feels that there should be nothing to fear from them!!!

Now ... what is the whole problem. If he was trying to hide something, would he have showed the underground? And, does anyone honestly think that SWAT would be needed for this?? Maybe a building inspector to make sure that the plumbing and electrical was done safely and call it done.

[faithmarie]

Poor guy. There really is no freedom left. At least they didn't shoot him. But he is now a marked man. Yeah think?

[TechAdmin]

Originally Posted by NaeKid

I figure that if the guy wants to build his own cave to live in like Batman - he should be allowed to. Now, as long as the house doesn't cave-in while he is inside and doesn't take out the neighbor's places, he should be able to do with his property what he sees fit.

Here in Calgary, the down-town towers all go 4 to 6 stories underground and there isn't any problems with those ... he is only 2.5 stories down ... who really cares.

The issue is in the decrepit nature of the houses in the area. Plus 2.5 stories in Texas usually means pretty rough ways of removing the limes stone. I'm not complaining that he did it. The issue is though that most of that area is poverty stricken.If he is unnecessarily putting his neighbors in harms way, the majority of who don't have home owners insurance, he is in the wrong. Austin is severely devided with the wealthy on the west the poor on the east and the middle class jammed into every where else. I think as far as freedom is concerned you do not have the freedom to put your neighbors property in danger, especially when recouping on the damage is impossible. As where I'm not one for government intervention, especially to the degree this was taken, they should have inspected the bunker and determined if it was suitable for the area, then condemned or approved the structure accordingly.

[TechAdmin]

Originally Posted by faithmarie

Poor guy. There really is no freedom left. At least they didn't shoot him. But he is now a marked man. Yeah think?

Absolutely not. As long as the structure is found habitable, the Austin Police will let him back in.

[kogneto]

I wonder if activating all that extra stuff is some sort of protocol, if that's the case then I'm sure there was a lot of bored people sitting around, in which case you could get a review of wasteful protocols

Could be that they hear "bunker" and don't have the same image as a prepper. They hear war bunker, bunker buster, all the negative connotations that go with it.

paranoia comes in many flavors