Sheltering in place

Sheltering-in-place has become common throughout the country where there is industry like that at Texas City. 

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program. Will Duct Tape and Plastic Really Work Issues Related to Expedient Shelter-in-Place. Report No. ORNL/TM-2001/154. August 2001. 

Strength Response personnel were instructed to clear the area by GVW Fire Chief upon realization of imminent danger. Access/Egress zones implemented through quick establishment of roadblocks. Immediate area evacuated (300 yards) shelter-in-place for within 1... 

Strength Personnel initially isolated the incident scene and surrounding area through conservative estimation by the ACSO shift supervisor. DOT Emergency Response Guide was used to determine 1.5 mile radius as initial protective isolation distance. Electronic version to be added to CP (Command Post) laptops. Key representatives of fire, law enforcement and emergency services at Command Post actively discussed evacuation versus shelter-in-place. 

Strength Key representatives of fire, law enforcement and emergency services at Command Post actively discussed evacuation versus shelter-in-place. 

We also received during the first day of the incident our Homeland Security PODS (truck boxes without wheels filled with badly needed incident supplies and equipment that stay with response teams for days at a time). The PODS were shipped in from Columbia, South Carolina, and were very impressive in the equipment and supplies they contained. During the first day, we held an orderly evacuation (The Sheriff s office directed the mandatory evacuation of those who has been sheltering-in-place within a mile radius of the accident scene, which amounted to as many of 5,400 persons. Some people had to wait eight days to return home, while others had as long as fourteen days). 

Public impact" is defined as known injury, offsite evacuation, or shelter-in-place. 

Two years later, an explosion and fire at Bartlo Packaging (BPS, Inc.), in West Helena, Arkansas, killed three firefighters and seriously injured another. Hundreds of residents, including patients at a local hospital, were either evacuated or sheltered-in-place (USEPA-OSHA, 1999). Property damage was extensive. Major roads were closed and Mississippi River was traffic halted for nearly 12 hours. 

An incident on April 8, 1998, at Morton International, Inc., in Paterson, New Jersey, resulted in nine injuries. Residents in a 10- by 10-block area around the plant sheltered-in-place for up to 3 hours, and an estimated 10,000 gallons of contaminated water ran off into a nearby river (USCSB, 2000). 

Serious consequences are injuries or fatalities, significant property damage, environmental contamination, and offsite evacuation or shelter-in-place. 

Reactive incidents primarily cause onsite impacts, such as worker fatalities and injuries-and severe business impacts, including lost production and property damage. However, a significant number of incidents have led to public impacts,29 which include public harm (injury or fatality), offsite evacuation, or shelter-in-place. Nearly 50 of the 167 incidents in the CSB data affected the public. At least eight of the 12 reactive incidents listed in Table 2 had public impacts. One of these incidents (CSI) resulted in a public fatality. 

Significant accidental release. Any release of a regulated substance that has caused or has the potential to cause off-site consequences such as death, injury, or adverse effects to human health or the environment, or to cause the public to shelter in place or be evacuated to avoid such consequences. 

An alarm system for notifying personnel of an emergency in progress and for communicating action required, such as information only, shelter-in-place, or evacuate. This could include bells, sirens, whistles, horns, or public address systems. 

Functional drill The purpose of a functional drill is to test an individual component of the emergency response plan. The drill could test the communication system, emergency operations center, evacuation, or the shelter-in-place plan. 12 months... 

Upon activation of ICS Gain status of situation Determine if evacuation or shelter-in-place is required Determine emergency level (0,1, or 2) Notify Communications Center of emergency response level (0,1, or 2) If evacuation/shelter-in-place is required, notify Communications Center Determine what resources need to be mobilized Determine if Mutual Aid is required Incident Commander... 

Because of the rapidity with which a release can develop, there may not be adequate time to conduct an emergency evacuation of populations close to the site, nor of nonemergency response personnel on the site. Instead they may have to be sheltered in place. The requirements for setting up shelters for this purpose and evaluating their effectiveness is also described in this chapter. 

Critical Consequence Class 1. Containment equipment or the critical instruments serving that equipment whose failure would result in uncontrolled releases of dangerous materials, situations resulting in accidental fires or explosions, reportable environmental releases including closing of nearby highways or shelter in place for community members, personal injury, death, or major property or major production loss. 

Evaluates event and makes recommendations for quarantine, shelter-in-place, and so on. 

Sheltering in place means to make a shelter out of the place you are in. It is a way for you to make the building as safe as possible to protect yourself until help arrives. You should not try to shelter in a vehicle unless you have no other choice. Vehicles are not airtight enough to give you adequate protection from chemicals. 

Every emergency is different and during any emergency people may have to evacuate or to shelter in place depending on where they live. 

How to Prepare to Shelter in Place. Choose a room in your house or apartment for the shelter. The best room to use is one with as few windows and doors as possible. A large room with a water supply is best—something like a master bedroom that is connected to a bathroom. For chemical events, this room should be as high in the structure as possible to avoid vapors (gases) that sink. This guideline is different from the sheltering-in-place technique used in tornadoes and other severe weather and for nuclear or radiological events, when the shelter should be low in the home. 

How to Know if You Need to Shelter in Place. Most likely you will only need to shelter in place for a few hours. 

If there is a code red or severe terror alert, you should pay attention to radio and television broadcasts to know right away whether a shelter-in-place alert is announced for your area. You will hear from the local police, emergency coordinators, or government on the radio and on television emergency broadcast system if you need to shelter in place. 

If you are away from your shelter-in-place location when a chemical event occurs, follow the instructions of emergency coordinators to find the nearest shelter. If your children are at school, they will be sheltered there. Unless you are instructed to do so, do not try to get to the school to bring your children home. Tfans-porting them from the school will put them, and you, at increased risk. 

Health departments must prepare to disseminate shelter-in-place information to the residents of surrounding areas. A redundant communication system should also be in place so that citizens can be given an all-clear notification when the event has ended and it is safe to go outside. 

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