Emergency rescue notification apparatus and system for storm shelters

An emergency rescue notification apparatus for use in a storm shelter having a floor disposed below an opening in an upper wall thereof, said apparatus comprising:

• a base defining an upwardly disposed opening;
• an elongated tubular member having a lower end, an upper end and one or more light apertures generally near said upper end of said tubular member, at least a portion of said upper end of said tubular member sized and configured to fit through the opening in the upper wall of the storm shelter;
• a cap at said upper end of said tubular member, said cap sized and configured to fit through the opening in the upper wall of the storm shelter;
• signaling means supported by at least one of said tubular member and said cap at or generally toward said upper end of said tubular member for signaling that a user of said apparatus is trapped inside the storm shelter and in need of assistance to get out of the storm shelter, said signaling means comprising a light source disposed inside said tubular member;
• and
• moving means associated with said tubular member for moving said tubular member upward relative to the floor of the storm shelter so as to selectively move said apparatus from a lowered position with said cap below the upper wall of the storm shelter to a raised position with said cap extended through the opening in the upper wall of the storm shelter so as to display said signaling means above the upper wall of the storm shelter, said tubular member and said moving means being cooperatively sized and configured such that when said apparatus is positioned in the storm shelter below the opening in the upper wall thereof and said moving means is operated to move said tubular member upward to place said apparatus in said raised position said signaling means will be positioned above the upper wall of the storm shelter.

An emergency rescue notification system, comprising:

• a storm shelter having an upper wall above a ceiling and a floor below said ceiling;
• an opening disposed through said ceiling and said upper wall of said storm shelter;
• a plug apparatus removably positioned in said opening to selectively open or close said opening;
• and
• a rescue notification apparatus positioned in said storm shelter below said opening, said apparatus comprising a base, an elongated tubular member having a lower end and an upper end, a cap at said upper end of said tubular member, signaling means supported by at least one of said tubular member and said cap at or generally toward said upper end of said tubular member for signaling that a user of said apparatus is trapped inside said storm shelter and in need of assistance to get out of said storm shelter and moving means associated with said tubular member for moving said tubular member upward relative to said floor of the storm shelter so as to selectively move said apparatus from a lowered position with said cap below said upper wall of said storm shelter to a raised position with said cap extended through said opening in said upper wall of said storm shelter so as to display said signaling means above said storm shelter, said base, said tubular member and said moving means being cooperatively sized and configured such that when said apparatus is positioned in said storm shelter below said opening in said upper wall thereof and said moving means is operated to move said tubular member upward to place said apparatus in said raised position said signaling means will be positioned above said upper wall of said storm shelter.