Man found living in self-made bunker

updated 9:28 p.m. ET May 31, 2007

BUFFALO, N.Y. - A city fire investigator says he found a man living in a well-equipped underground bunker.

James O'Neill, an investigator with the city fire marshal's office, said the man, a 47-year-old veteran, uses car batteries to light the 16-by-20-foot space, which is six feet underground. He cooks food in a hot pot.

The man said the bunker took two years to dig, O'Neill said.

The walls are covered with insulation and plastic tarps and the ceiling is made of wood and roofing material, said O'Neill, who discovered the home over the weekend while investigating a nearby fire. The man sleeps on a foam bed, O'Neill said.

"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," O'Neill told The Buffalo News.

The fire investigator declined to give the man's name or say where the bunker is located to protect the man's privacy. He said the man earns money doing occasional odd jobs.

"It's not the Marriott hotel by any means, but this man has made it comfortable down there," O'Neill said.

The man said he has been living in the bunker for about six years.

"He told me it's a peaceful and tranquil place to live," O'Neill said.

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