Shelter in place.
In many types of public health emergencies, the safest thing to do is stay indoors. If the air is unsafe because of hazardous chemicals, radiation, or a spray (aerosol) release of a biological agent, you may be advised to “shelter in place,” which limits your exposure to the outside air. The goal of sheltering in place is to reduce the movement of air into and out of a building until either the hazard has passed or other emergency actions can be taken.
A decision to shelter-in-place is made to save lives – do not ignore it!
Be Prepared
Select an interior room with the fewest windows or vents, such as storage rooms or hallways.
- Avoid rooms with mechanical equipment like ventilation blowers or pipes.
- Room(s) should have adequate space for everyone to be able to sit down.
- Avoid overcrowding by selecting several rooms. Ideally, the room should have an adjoining bathroom.
Bring your grab-and-go bag and a few other items:
- Plastic sheeting (pre-cut to size to cover any windows and doors and labelled).
- Duct tape for sealing cracks around doors and windows.
- Enough towels to block the bottoms of each door in the room.
Other important steps to take:
- Ensure you have access to a phone in the room selected for updates, but avoid making phone calls to keep lines available for emergency use.
- Consider a laptop or TV for information updates.
- Conduct a shelter-in-place drill with those living in the residence twice a year.
- Check the supplies of the shelter-in-place kit every six months.
During a Shelter-in-place Emergency
- Bring everyone inside immediately, including pets.
- Close all doors and windows.
- Shut down furnace, air conditioners, exhaust fans, and vents if safe to do so.
- Close fireplace dampers.
- Ensure clothes dryers are closed.
- Retrieve the shelter-in-place kit once inside the shelter-in-place room/s.
- Seal any doors, windows, vents with plastics sheeting and tape.
- Place wet towels at base of door/s.
- Monitor media for updates (e.g. Voyent Alert!, Town website, radio, Town social media, etc.).
- Go to your pre-designated shelter-in-place room.
- Avoid using large amounts of water, as it may deplete available resources or affect water pressure needed for emergency services.
- Remain in the pre-designated room until an “all clear” message has been given by emergency officials.
After a Shelter-in-place Emergency
- When the “all clear” message is issued by an emergency broadcast or news alert, everyone can leave the room.
- Open all doors to ventilate.
- Turn on furnace or air conditioner.
- Replenish and re-stow shelter-in-place kit in designated location.