Shelter in Place or Evacuation, What should I do?
 
  One of the most important decisions that you will have to make during an emergency will be to Shelter in Place or evacuate. This decision is obviously much easier to make in some situations 
  as opposed to others. For example, during a tornado it is a no brainer to go into your basement, but if that incident was a tanker truck with hazardous materials that is a quarter mile from your
  house and the wind is blowing it towards you, what would you do? Questions race though your mind. If I evacuate will I make it out of the cloud? Or would it be better to seal up and stay put 
  until directed? The key is to stay aware of what your options are, plan for them, so you can react instinctively when a situation arises, Haz Mat or any other event. 
 
 Evacuation 
 
  If the situation allows for the opportunity for you to evacuate, you should seize this chance. Evacuation, when successfully completed, is the best choice because it allows you to leave the 
  hazard area. However, this does not just happen you must carefully plan out you evacuation actions so all members of the family understand the plan. Your evacuation plan should, at a 
  minimum, include the following considerations: 
 
·         Your must have planned meeting places, for n your area and outside of it (i.e. by the Oak tree in the front yard, by the barn, at the grocery store, etc…) 
·         A multiple planned evacuation routes and at least a half tank of fuel so you can get out of the area. 
·         If you do not have vehicle, you must plan for an alternate means to evacuate. 
·         Make sure that you property is secure prior to you leaving. 
·         Ensure that you take an emergency supply kit and your animals with you when you leave. You must plan for your pets because most public shelters will not accept pets, and if they 
do except pets it will typically be common house pets only. Most shelters to do not except exotic or pocket pets (i.e. snakes, lizards, birds, etc…). You should include in your 
emergency supply kit supplies for your pets and also have housing for the animal (portable kennel or carrier, etc…).
·         If required or directed shut off your utilities prior to leaving. 
o    Locate the electric, gas and water shut-off valves. 
o    Keep necessary tools near gas and water shut-off valves. 
o    Teach family members how to turn off utilities. 
o    If you turn the gas off, a professional must turn it back on. Do not attempt to do this yourself.
 
  Ensure that someone (a family member or friend) outside your community knows your evacuation plan, and where your intentions of going are. If you have neighbors that would need 
  assistance and you can help. Offer the assistance to them and write them into your plan. Make sure that everyone involved with your evacuation plan understands this plan.  
      
Shelter in Place
 
 What exactly is Shelter in Place? Shelter in Place is a short term solution that provides your family protection from hazardous material that has been released into the air
 (roughly two to three hours maximum). You simply need to pick an interior room (preferably on the second floor) with no or few windows, seal it off and take shelter there. Why the second floor,
 the second floor is preferred because most chemicals tend to stay close to the ground, thus the second floor would be providing additional protection. 

  What Shelter in Place is not: sealing up your whole house, wrapping it with shrink wrap or throwing a giant tent over the house. If you see large amounts of debris in the air, or if local authorities
  say the air is badly contaminated, you may want to take this kind of action. Why not evacuation? The answer is that the contamination is already in the air and with the wind will pass and 
  hunkering down in the Shelter in Place room would be safer than go out into the contamination. This could be an indication that a chemical, biological or radiological contaminant may have 
  been released into the air, either unintentionally or intentionally.  
 
Shelter in Place Checklist for Home 
 
Bring your family and pets inside.
Lock doors, close windows, air vents and fireplace dampers. 
Turn off fans, air conditioning and forced air heating systems. 
Take your family emergency supply kit to included additional pet supplies, unless you have reason to believe it has been contaminated. 
Take family and pets into the planned interior room with no or few windows. 
Seal all windows, doors and air vents with heavy plastic sheeting and duct tape. HINT: Consider measuring and cutting the sheeting in advance to save time. 
Be prepared to improvise and use what you have on hand to seal gaps so that you create a barrier between yourself and any contamination. 
Ensure that your Shelter in Place room has a telephone located in it so you can communicate without the outside world. Cell phones are not reliable during this situation because the cell system
 will likely be overrun with calls and may not provided service. 
Local authorities may not immediately be able to provide information on what is happening and what you should do. However, you should watch TV, listen to the radio or check the Internet often 
for official news and instructions as they become available. 
Be prepared to evacuate when you are directed by public officials. Evacuation will likely be broadcast over the Emergency Broadcast System and additional information will likely  be passed through
 the news media.
Once the all clear as been announced what should we do? 
o    Open all doors and windows,
o    Turn on the heating or cooling system to ventilate the house 
o     GO OUTSIDE.
 
    

 

                     Example of Shelter in Place sealed roomed as recommended by DHS.
            For further information please contact us. You can research the information yourself from the American Red Cross or the Department of Homeland Security (www.ready.gov). 
    Those are the main sources we got our information.