Disaster Preparedness

Shelter-in-Place

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What Shelter-in-Place Means

There are two emergency scenarios which may require you to shelter-in-place.

1. The most likely scenario requiring you to shelter-in-place would be the short-term need to isolate yourself from chemical, biological, or radiological contaminants released accidentally or intentionally into the environment. (This could require sheltering for 1-3 days.) This means selecting a small, interior room, with no or few windows, and taking refuge there. It does not mean sealing off your entire home or office building. If emergency personnel advise you to shelter-in-place, follow the instructions provided below for your location. Make sure you have an operational battery-powered radio.

2. Less likely but more consequential are scenarios requiring you to shelter-in-place for a longer period of time, including but not limited to meteorological, geological and technological hazards, which pose a serious threat to power and communication grids (which are increasingly complex), transportation and material supply lines, food supplies, and both water and sanitation systems.

Additionally, a natural or manmade bio-hazard emergency could require sheltering for 1-6 weeks or longer.

A significant biological threat is a pandemic, involving a virulent contagion transmitted by animals (bird or insect transmitted viruses) and/or through contact with other people. Outbreaks of such contagions are a growing risk given the intra- and inter-continental mobility of humans. There is a very real and growing threat of a bio-terrorist attack utilizing humans to spread contagions—bio-bombers—terrorist “martyrs” who, instead of strapping on a bomb and detonating themselves in a crowded urban area, become human hosts for virulent strains of deadly contagions. A pandemic can be incited if a cadre of bio-bombers fly into the U.S. legally, and park themselves in major airport hubs around the nation for days, where they can infect others traveling across country with pathogens, symptoms of which may take days to manifest.

In the event of a pandemic threat, you must isolate yourself from other people in order not to contract an illness. The best location to shelter-in-place in the event of a biological threat, is in your residence.

Sheltering in place for pandemic or other threats which necessitates isolation for more than 1-3 days, requires basic preparations. Follow our Two Step Individual Readiness Plan to unsure you and your family are prepared for a longer-term requirement to shelter-in-place.

How to Shelter-in-Place

At Home

Close and lock all windows and exterior doors.
If you are told there is danger of explosion, close the window shades, blinds, or curtains.
Turn off all fans, heating and air conditioning systems.
Close the fireplace damper.
Get your family disaster supplies kit and make sure the radio is working.
Go to an interior room without windows that’s above ground level. In the case of a chemical threat, an above-ground location is preferable because some chemicals are heavier than air, and may seep into basements even if the windows are closed.
Bring your pets with you, and be sure to bring additional food and water supplies for them.
It is ideal to have a hard-wired telephone in the room you select. Call your emergency contact and have the phone available if you need to report a life-threatening condition. Cellular telephone equipment may be overwhelmed or damaged during an emergency.
Use duct tape and plastic sheeting (heavier than food wrap) to seal all cracks around the door and any vents into the room.
Keep listening to your radio or television until you are told all is safe or you are told to evacuate. Local officials may call for evacuation in specific areas at greatest risk in your community.

At Work

Close the business.
If there are customers, clients, or visitors in the building, provide for their safety by asking them to stay - not leave. When authorities provide directions to shelter-in-place, they want everyone to take those steps now, where they are, and not drive or walk outdoors.
Unless there is an imminent threat, ask employees, customers, clients, and visitors to call their emergency contact to let them know where they are and that they are safe.
Turn on call-forwarding or alternative telephone answering systems or services. If the business has voice mail or an automated attendant, change the recording to indicate that the business is closed, and that staff and visitors are remaining in the building until authorities advise it is safe to leave.
Close and lock all windows, exterior doors, and any other openings to the outside.
If you are told there is danger of explosion, close the window shades, blinds, or curtains.
Have employees familiar with your building’s mechanical systems turn off all fans, heating and air conditioning systems. Some systems automatically provide for exchange of inside air with outside air - these systems, in particular, need to be turned off, sealed, or disabled.
Gather essential disaster supplies, such as nonperishable food, bottled water, battery-powered radios, first aid supplies, flashlights, batteries, duct tape, plastic sheeting, and plastic garbage bags.
Select interior room(s) above the ground floor, with the fewest windows or vents. The room(s) should have adequate space for everyone to be able to sit in. Avoid overcrowding by selecting several rooms if necessary. Large storage closets, utility rooms, pantries, copy and conference rooms without exterior windows will work well. Avoid selecting a room with mechanical equipment like ventilation blowers or pipes, because this equipment may not be able to be sealed from the outdoors.
It is ideal to have a hard-wired telephone in the room(s) you select. Call emergency contacts and have the phone available if you need to report a life-threatening condition. Cellular telephone equipment may be overwhelmed or damaged during an emergency.
Use duct tape and plastic sheeting (heavier than food wrap) to seal all cracks around the door(s) and any vents into the room.
Bring everyone into the room(s). Shut and lock the door(s).
Write down the names of everyone in the room, and call your business’ designated emergency contact to report who is in the room with you, and their affiliation with your business (employee, visitor, client, customer.)
Keep listening to the radio or television until you are told all is safe or you are told to evacuate. Local officials may call for evacuation in specific areas at greatest risk in your community.

At School

Close the school. Activate the school’s emergency plan. Follow reverse evacuation procedures to bring students, faculty, and staff indoors.
If there are visitors in the building, provide for their safety by asking them to stay - not leave. When authorities provide directions to shelter-in-place, they want everyone to take those steps now, where they are, and not drive or walk outdoors.
Provide for answering telephone inquiries from concerned parents by having at least one telephone with the school’s listed telephone number available in the room selected to provide shelter for the school secretary, or person designated to answer these calls. This room should also be sealed. There should be a way to communicate among all rooms where people are sheltering-in-place in the school.
Ideally, provide for a way to make announcements over the school-wide public address system from the room where the top school official takes shelter.
If children have cell phones, allow them to use them to call a parent or guardian to let them know that they have been asked to remain in school until further notice, and that they are safe.
If the school has voice mail or an automated attendant, change the recording to indicate that the school is closed, students and staff are remaining in the building until authorities advise that it is safe to leave.
Provide directions to close and lock all windows, exterior doors, and any other openings to the outside.
If you are told there is danger of explosion, direct that window shades, blinds, or curtains be closed.
Have employees familiar with your building’s mechanical systems turn off all fans, heating and air conditioning systems. Some systems automatically provide for exchange of inside air with outside air - these systems, in particular, need to be turned off, sealed, or disabled.
Gather essential disaster supplies, such as nonperishable food, bottled water, battery-powered radios, first aid supplies, flashlights, batteries, duct tape, plastic sheeting, and plastic garbage bags.
Select interior room(s) above the ground floor, with the fewest windows or vents. The room(s) should have adequate space for everyone to be able to sit in. Avoid overcrowding by selecting several rooms if necessary. Classrooms may be used if there are no windows or the windows are sealed and can not be opened. Large storage closets, utility rooms, meeting rooms, and even a gymnasium without exterior windows will also work well.
It is ideal to have a hard-wired telephone in the room(s) you select. Call emergency contacts and have the phone available if you need to report a life-threatening condition. Cellular telephone equipment may be overwhelmed or damaged during an emergency.
Bring everyone into the room. Shut and lock the door.
Use duct tape and plastic sheeting (heavier than food wrap) to seal all cracks around the door(s) and any vents into the room.
Write down the names of everyone in the room, and call your schools’ designated emergency contact to report who is in the room with you.
Listen for an official announcement from school officials via the public address system, and stay where you are until you are told all is safe or you are told to evacuate. Local officials may call for evacuation in specific areas at greatest risk in your community.

In Your Vehicle

If you are driving a vehicle and hear advice to “shelter-in-place” on the radio, take these steps:

If you are very close to home, your office, or a public building, go there immediately and go inside. Follow the shelter-in-place recommendations for the place you pick described above.
If you are unable to get to a home or building quickly and safely, then pull over to the side of the road. Stop your vehicle in the safest place possible. If it is sunny outside, it is preferable to stop under a bridge or in a shady spot, to avoid being overheated.
Turn off the engine. Close windows and vents.
If possible, seal the heating/air conditioning vents with duct tape.
Listen to the radio regularly for updated advice and instructions.
Stay where you are until you are told it is safe to get back on the road. Be aware that some roads may be closed or traffic detoured. Follow the directions of law enforcement officials.

Local officials on the scene are the best source of information for your particular situation. Following their instructions during and after emergencies regarding sheltering, food, water, and clean up methods is your safest choice.

Remember that instructions to shelter-in-place are usually provided for durations of a few hours, not days or weeks. There is little danger that the room in which you are taking shelter will run out of oxygen and you will suffocate.

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