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in this section
A
diagram from Ready.gov on
sealing doors, windows, and vents.
Shelter in Place
If you are given the command to Shelter in Place by authorities during an emergency, you must know what to do, and how to do it properly.
In general, you should have to Shelter in Place only during hazardous
materials or bioterror incidents.
Here is how to Shelter in Place properly:
- Grab your emergency supply kit and gather the family.
- Close all windows, doors, and fireplace dampers.
- Turn off all ventilation, including fans, air conditioners, furnaces,
and vents.
- If the incident is biological in nature and your home's air conditioner is equipped with a HEPA filter, leave the a/c on! The filter can help remove the biological agent from the air inside your home. A HEPA filter will not help in a chemical emergency.
- Portable HEPA filters may be brought into your Shelter in Place room in a biological, but not a chemical, emergency.
- Move everyone into an interior room (no outside walls or windows, or as few as possible). Be sure to bring your battery-powered radio.
- Using duct tape and plastic sheeting (sheeting should be 2-4 mil. thick), seal all cracks around windows, doors, light switches, electrical outlets, vents, and cables.
- Call an out-of-town contact to let them know what's going on.
- Your contact should ideally be an out-of-town relative. Often long-distance calling works better than local in an emergency (local lines get overwhelmed); besides, if this is a localized emergency, a local contact may be affected as well!
- Ideally, your Shelter in Place room will have a hard-wired telephone. Cellular service may be disrupted.
- Listen to the radio. Follow the directions of safety officials. Do not leave your shelter room unless instructed to do so by the officials, but be ready to evacuate if instructed to do so. Sometimes, officials will tell you to evacuate to a shelter.
Additional Resources
Ready.gov - sheltering in place information from the federal government