Shelter-In-Place

An airborne hazard (e.g., chemical, biological or radiological) outside of a building may
require an alternate protective action—sheltering in place. Sheltering can be employed when a hazardous plume is moving towards an area and there is insufficient time to evacuate before the plume arrives.

It is a temporary strategy designed to be used when it is safer to remain inside rather than evacuate to the outside.  Sheltering-in-place is also designed for at most one to two hours because all buildings are subject to air infiltration.

Ideal Shelter Areas:

• Inside rooms
• Above the ground floor
• Windowless room
• Minimal number of vents and doors that will have to be closed or sealed

Shelter-In Place General Guidelines/Procedures

Incidents may occur in a variety of ways and can involve an almost infinite number of materials, which may have different characteristics, reactivates, and could cause many types of effects on human health.  The variety of potential accidents and materials makes it impossible to present comprehensive procedures in this general guideline.  Nevertheless, some basic procedures are generally applicable:

Seek shelter immediately.

• Go into the nearest building.
• Contact Emergency (9-911) immediately to report the situation.
• Close all doors and windows to seal off the building from the exterior.
• Shut off air conditioners, furnaces, and any other fans that draw outside air into the building.  Window air conditioning units can  be shut down.  Arrangements will need to be made for larger air conditioning units.
• Conduct an accountability check of students and staff.
• Supervise all students; prevent them from leaving the shelter.
• Remain in the shelter-in-place area; do not leave until told to do so.
• When officials confirm it is safe to evacuate the building, purge any contaminates that have entered.  Arrange HVAC system for full exhaust.