Planning For An Emergency

Guidelines

Review Shelter in Place guidelines for chemical incidents, major fires with hazardous smoke and weapons of mass destruction incidents:

Surroundings

Study your surroundings for fixed and mobile sources of hazardous materials. Learn about any warning sirens where you live and work. Your Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) or office of Emergency Management can give you information about the sirens, such as when they are tested and for how long. 

For a place to shelter, select a room in your house that has few or no windows. The room should have a telephone, although you should use it only for emergency calls. If you use it otherwise, you may be taking up a line needed by emergency response officials. Make sure all family members know what to do in a chemical emergency, whether they are at home, school, work or outdoors.

Kit

Prepare a "Shelter in Place" kit appropriate for the type(s) of emergencies that could occur near you. Assemble your own kit to aid you when the need arises. A simple kit can be assembled relatively inexpensively (usually under $50) with the following items:

• A battery-operated radio, with extra batteries, tuned to the local Emergency Alert Station (EAS).
• Bottled water and some sort of snack food.
• A roll of duct tape. Bath towels to place under any openings in doorways (dampen towels first). 
• A roll of plastic sheeting, precut to fit any windows in the room. 

Check the kit every six months to make sure all the supplies are still there and that they are fresh.

Additional Information

• Find out which radio stations, television and cable channels in your area broadcast emergency information.
• Learn CPR and first-aid. 
• Review your plan periodically and conduct drills.