Family builds tornado room in new home after March 2nd tornadoes

Safe room in new home after tornado - It’s been four months since the March 2 tornadoes ripped through the Tri-State, leaving a path of destruction.

We’ve been following one family in Crittenden that lost almost everything.   Now, they will soon have a new home that will protect them from Mother Nature.

Regena List and her family were lucky to survive the large tornado that took their home. Everyone was safe, including her daughter, Tyka, who has unspecified leukodystrophy.

She recalled the horrifying experience.

“Well, for that day, in our house, timing was everything. If everybody had not been where they were at the time we started hearing breaking glass, we wouldn’t have made it.”

Regena only had seconds to get her family, including Tyka, into the hallway, where she draped herself over her daughter, who uses a wheelchair.

“I never want to re-live anything like that again, and if there’s anything I can do to prevent it, I’m doing it.”

The List family’s home is almost complete, and while Regena misses here old home, she’s excited about her new one.

“I love these windows and we actually saved the mantel from the old place that will be on the fireplace, so at least I’ll have a little touch of the old house here, and that will help.”

A piece of the past placed inside the new home … a home that will also protect her family from another storm.  

The best part of the List family’s new home is the safe room. It’s built with 14 gauge steel and bolted right into the concrete.

Mike Kegley of the B.O.L.D Company has been building the List’s new home. The safe room is located on the first floor so the whole family, including Tyka, can be protected, quickly.

Kegley said that one of the most important safety features is a specially designed steel door.

It’s been tested and rated for an EF-4 tornado. It has extra reinforcing, extra hinges and a heavy duty lock.  It will protect the List family while inside of the room, and still allow access out once the storm passes. 

Regena said she feels better having the safe room. She still has grieving issues over the old house, but she knows that her new home will be safer.

“It’s going to be awful hard not to be happy here, because it’s everything I asked for," she said with a smile, "including the safe room.”

If you want to volunteer to help in the recovery efforts from the March 2 tornadoes, email NKYtornadorecovery@gmail.com .

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