This past weekend I
decided to begin
documenting potential
safe zones around Ann
Arbor. An inherent
problem with this task
is that no one place is
ever going to protect
you from every
classification of
Zombie. Not to
discourage anyone,
but it's important to
keep that in mind when
scouting the potential
of various facilities; I'll
cover the different
classes in the future. For now, I'd like to discuss the pros and cons I found of this facility. I took several photos from outside the 'outdoors' section and a few within the gates, needless to say there are quite a few positive aspects to the physical defense capabilities of this place.
Those tall
20 ft+ gates are reinforced in concrete and wrapped in chain link
fencing. However, they would need additional reinforcement at
the doors, as the load which they can bare may not be enough to
hold back a large group of zombies. With that, inside just this
'outdoor' area is an ample supply of tools, steel bars, and stones
that may be used for just that task. Not to mention that this is
indeed a home improvement venue and every tool you can imagine
is inside. However, securing the whole facility requires a team of
able bodied and like minded individuals. For a smaller group the
'outdoor center' would be an easier task with just two doors leading
to the interior building and four within the gated area to the
parking lot, which as I've mentioned would need reinforcement to
accommodate a long term stay, otherwise a few pallets of masonry
would suffice (which are in ample supply). With all that said, it's
hard to justify this location as a long term shelter. It has a ton of
important supplies required for starting over, but with a severe
lack of an immediate food supply. Converting this facility to a long
term shelter would require a pre-existing cache of food and some
strong gardening knowledge. The gated outdoor portion has the
potential to be a very large garden with an elaborate irrigation
system based on the large area of the flat roof, of which water
run-off could be diverted for various uses or stored. With all the
tools necessary to tear up the concrete within and a large supply
of vegetable seeds inside, this task could not be recommended
pending the class of outbreak at hand. Any loud sounds, especially
drilling up concrete, is certain to alert zombies from miles around
to your location. It's viability as a short term resting spot after a
few days travel, or as a safe-zone between multiple locations has
more promise. With the high shelving inside and out, there is
potential for solid piece of mind in getting some good rest, just
make sure you have at least two to three exit strategies, with one
being a roof escape. This location is certainly worth more
observation and in the very least has some immediate short-term
protection value, if not a good initial meet up spot for coordinated
groups. With additional potential for armoring vehicles by
pulling them into the gated area and utilizing the tools available
to do so.
