Safety During a Chemical / HazMat
                           Emergency

                

Why Shelter-In-Place?  Certain substances may be stored, manufactured, or transported through our county that are extremely hazardous in nature.  In the event of an immediate life-threatening event, local officials may direct an evacuation of an area.  However, evacuations carry the potential for more harm than good in many circumstances.  If there is a good chance that the release of a particular substance will be short term, then sheltering-in-place may very well be a safer alternative.  Sheltering-in-place means protecting the airspace within a building from contaminated air outside.

What Do I Need to Know?  First of all, you must get indoors. Then, you need to:

• Choose an interior room of your house, office or building you are in.
• Close all doors and windows, as well as the fireplace damper(s).
• Turn off all heating/ventilation/air conditioning systems.
• In your interior room, close the door and use bath towels to seal under, over and around the door.
• Use plastic sheeting to seal off the windows and air vents. Use duct tape to hold the towels and plastic sheeting in place.
• Stay indoors and listen to local radio or television stations for updated information that will tell you when it is safe to come out.

What If My Kids Are At School?  Parents are highly discouraged from picking up children at school or daycare because it would mean that you would be driving through potentially contaminated air.  Cars leak more air than most homes and that can place you at risk.  Please contact your school ahead of time to learn about their shelter-in-place plans.

What If I Am In My Car/Truck?  If you hear the order to shelter-in-place while in your car or truck, find a safe place to pull over as soon as possible. Then:

• Roll up all of the windows.
• Shut off your engine.
• Close all outside air vents.
• Since the event should be short, keep your car radio on so you can hear when it is all clear.

Preparing a Shelter-In-Place Kit.  Preparing ahead saves valuable time when a shelter-in-place order is issued. Assemble the following items and keep then in or near your chosen interior room:

• Bath towels
• Duct Tape
• Plastic Sheeting
• Portable Radio (with extra batteries)
• List of instructions (see "What Do I Need to Know" above)

More information on "Sheltering-In-Place" can be found by visiting:

                                 www.ready.gov

                                           or

    www. redcross.org/preparedness/cdc_english/Sheltering.asp

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of a shelter-in-place video, please contact the Emergency Management office at (316) 733-9796.