Beans & LegumesWhat’s Your Shelter-In-Place Plan?
Tornadoes or a Chemical Incident are just a couple of potential disasters that would require you to “Shelter-In-Place“. When a disaster strikes that raises uncertainty outside your best bet may be to stay where you’re at. Without wanting to sound overly dramatic, the decision to “Shelter-In-Place” or “Grab-n-Go” can literally make all the difference in a survival situation. Understanding and then planning for the possibilities can make all the difference in the outcome for you and your family.
Keeping in mind that a large portion of the population spends at least 8 hours everyday outside of the home, that means there’s at least a 33% chance that you’ll be somewhere other than your home when an emergency situation arises.
I would recommend that you first start with planning to Shelter-in-Place at your home and then your place of employment, followed by any other location that you may spend a large amount of time at.
Take the time to identify potential disasters that can occur in your area that would require you to Shelter-in-Place. Any type of airborne virus or chemical incident would require Sheltering-In-Place. In a situation such as this, you’ll also need to take the necessary steps to “Seal the room”, this helps to insure that you’ve protected yourself from contaminated air from the outside. Keep in mind that this is a temporary measure.
While creating your plan take the time to identify where you’ll keep your supplies for sealing a room. If you need to seal a room, try to select a room that has the fewest windows, vents and doors, (basements are preferable).
Here’s a couple of tips from ready.gov:
- 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 emergency supply kit unless you have reason to believe it has been contaminated.
- Go into an interior room with few windows, if possible.
- Seal all windows, doors and air vents with plastic sheeting and duct tape. 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.
- 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.
Make sure that you’ve got the food, water and supplies that you need as part of your Sheltering-In-Place Plan!
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Make sure that you’ve got the food, water and supplies that you need !Well that’s a great idea but what do I do for power as in electrical needs . Why not offer natural energy type resources.
July 12th, 2010 at 7:46 amI absolutely love this website! So glad I found it- it’s been and continues to be immensely helpful!
As for power issues…we have a gas powered generator. Not necessarily a “natural energy” power source…but we’re not going to care if it becomes necessary- At least we’ll have electricity!
Thanks again for this site!
July 12th, 2010 at 8:28 ami have a propane powered generator. the gas is easy to store.i also can use the propane tank from my outdoor grill for it. i also have a keroseen heater. kero is easy to store and lasts along time.i also have a 12 volt tv vcr, microwave oven. i have 4 12 volt deep cycle batts that i can charge with a half hour of run time on my gen.then use one at a time to use for 12 volt lites and to run the other things i mentioned.
July 12th, 2010 at 8:35 amto make it easy, all you have to do to get ideas is wlk through a self contained motor home. they are equiped with everything you should have in your basement. all 12 volt. refrigerater,heater etc.alot of these things can be bought at walmart, sears , an rv center. look around youll find this stuff pritty cheap. and you can buy one at a time as your budget allows. in one year youll have it and peace of mind.you can also find the old cal fired heaters like your grandma had in her living room. coal can be stored easy, and 3 tons will get you through an entire winter. they dont need power to run.
July 12th, 2010 at 8:47 amThis is all new to me. Why 12 volt appliances? Are they just small appliances that will draw less energy from a generator or do they run off of some sort of battery pack. Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question. I’m not electronic savvy.
July 12th, 2010 at 11:46 amI doubt a generator would be much use in a shelter in place emergency. If there is a gas leak of some sort, unless you have some way to remotely start your generator, you won’t be able to go outside to start a generator or get the propane tank off your BBQ.
July 12th, 2010 at 12:16 pmYou may not loose power, but if you do, all you really need power for is a small am fm radio to hear the news. You don’t need power to survive for three to five days, which is the most likely scenario for a shelter in place. I agree energy is a big part of planning but is clearly a luxury (unless you need a medical device like CPAP to sleep) The old addage, that you can survive 3 minutes without oxygen, 3 hours without heat, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food is a good guide. Get a package of N100 masks (N95 masks let 5 % of the dust/contaminants get through to your lungs) or a real gas mask if you’re that hardcore. Then store some water, then store some food. Then worry about the energy stuff. The entry above talking about propane and coal are the smart ones. Gasoline and Kerosene go bad after a while. Propane lasts 100′s of trillions of years and coal is like wood but lasts 10-15 years and wood goes bad in 3 yrs. I love survival topics. Good luck to us all.
July 12th, 2010 at 1:20 pmmy generator is located outside with access from the inside.i have a yrs supply of food for 10 people,have gas masks etc. i was trying to address a concern of the fellow above.power is a luxury and just like storeing sweets, its comforting. the reason i went 12 volt is the gen can charge the batts with little run time.its hard to store alot of gas to run all the things we use in our daily lives.with 12 volts we can have the luxury of watching a movie or whatever.food and water are of course the first thins that should be stored.dont forget meds. some people need bloodpressure meds,insulin etc. just talk with your doc. and explain what you are doing. he will probably give you a perscrition for some extra for storeage.i stored extra food for whoever i can help at the time. depends on the situation. goo luck
July 12th, 2010 at 3:16 pmi know i didnt give details of the positioning of my gen.if anyone wants info mail me @ bmfpesci@aol.com ill get back to you. im trying to gear up for more than a storm or flood. im getting ready for an economic colapse it has happend in the past. i remember my parents telling me of breadines. i dont want to have to stand in them. im also readying for some kind of nuclear. im not an extreemast. just want to prepare to protect my family.if in 20,30 yrs nothing happens then we will have alot of food to eat.can you imagine what a loaf of bread would cost then?. we had a flood 36 yrs ago . the stores were wiped out. no milk, bread, and few pickings of meat.ill never forget it.
July 12th, 2010 at 3:34 pmGreat info from all. I store 65gal of gas in outside shed, sandbags placed all around and tall to protect me & neighbors. Has stabilizer keeps gas good for 2 yrs. Have 3 months food and 165 gal water in food quality 55 gal drums in garage with 5 yr preserver. Am working on HHO for cars and solar to keep batteries charged rather than my gen.
July 12th, 2010 at 4:22 pmI have one thing about sealing off a room,You will be dead in about 2 hours when you run out of air to breath.You can get 4 hours out of a gas mask.A gas attack can last past 10 hours.An air cleaning system is what you need if you are going to seal your self in an air tight room.
July 12th, 2010 at 6:47 pmDying of Affixation is just as bad as droning! Find other ways other then mass sew aside.Bomb Shelters have air cleaning systems.That would be your best bet.
If you need to have a safe room in your house?You will have to spend some money if you don’t want to die init.
Plastic & Duct tape will buy 1 person 2 hours of air to breath,Then the air turns into carbon dioxide,then the headache will kick in,and you will pass out forever!
I just looked into it.Gas masks have quick change filters for the newer models.
July 12th, 2010 at 7:03 pmWooo. Looks like a lot of people waiting for the end of the world.
Not making fun of anyone (being prepared is usually a good thing) but gas masks?
If you live in a place where CBN is a real possibility (like a major urban center) breathable air is only one of a great many concerns you’ll have. Dust filtering is a big issue however (I was in lower Manhattan on 9/11, know all about dust in the air).
As for power, good ideas but keep in mind that if everyone in your area is w/o power and you have lights on you’re a sitting duck for raiders!
Even just the sound of a generator can be “hazardous to your health” if you get my meaning.
Yea, pretty scary stuff to think about…
July 12th, 2010 at 8:37 pmEven propane gas runs out. SOLAR power is the answer.
July 12th, 2010 at 10:19 pmI’m glad to see you guys are out there. I love MasterPo’s comment on calling attention to yourself. The dust in the air is a great reason to get the N100 masks. The chance of a chemical attack is low. Especially in a rural area. Its too hard to put out enough agent to get a high body count in the country. Plane or train gives you enough caualties to make it worth your while (if you’re a bad guy) That’s why the attack with nerve agent on the train station a few years ago. Cyanide gas is toxic in high doses, but its hard to generate enough agent to keep dangerous concentrations for a long time (your body detoxifies a small amount each minute like it does alcohol). Its a good agent to attack a building with if you want to occupy that same area after a while, cause it’ll be safe in a few hours for your soldiers to occupy. It’s not a good agent for open spaces. Rural people probably dont need gas masks. City folk might want to consider it.
July 13th, 2010 at 6:59 amSolar is good power and the little ones you can get at sporting goods or farm stores to charge 6 or 12 volt batteries are great and just plain fun to use knowing your getting power from the sun. The 12 volt guy above is smart and the person that said you can get great ideas from a camper is so right. I really learned alot when I bought my pop up camper. My little fridge runs on propane, 12 v DC or 120v AC. If you put some solar panels on a hard side camper and put in food and water from this site…ooo baby you’d be set. The air filtration comment above vs sealing the doors and windows and asphixiating is an interesting topic. I believe sealing the doors and windows and turning off your fan/air conditioner/ heater would keep contaminants out just because there’d be no good reason for them to enter the building and the CO2 wouldn’t be as big a problem. You could configure an air intake filter with a stack of HEPA filters but its hard to give that advice to the masses when you dont know what sorts of things will get constructed.
I also love the person who wrote they were worried about a long term financial meltdown (since I believe that’s coming). I tell my friends you cant eat gold, so I’d say start with water, then do food. And remember, if you stockpile, they guy above who stores enough for himself and some others he will want to help…most people who stockpile are compassionate so you too might want to stockpile for yourself, and then start a little stash for those who might begin to stick to you.
keep up the good work.
wow, yes i have an air filtering device. of course. this thing snowballs as you get into it. thats why i left my email address.i live relatively close to a power plant, thats why i covered for that.to much to talk about here. buy books, talk here,.you have to find neibors of like mind. you have to have a sec. system, power for that,defence equipment,alot of stuff.the best thing i see here is you,you who are smart enough to know there is something wrong. god bless, and good luck to you and the usa.
July 13th, 2010 at 8:05 amyea its me again. it would be a good idea to contact your local ems. find out there evac plan. there info is free. that way you will know what the others are doing.i bought topo maps of my area because i like to hike.they are good to know whats around you and various trails etc.you can get county wide maps, or smaller Quadrants with more detail. anyway its all fun.
July 13th, 2010 at 8:31 amSteve – You can never store enough food and water for the duration. At some point you need to find a new source.
If where ever you live, after a couple of weeks or perhaps a few months things are really so bad and not even a glimmer of improvement you had better make plans to get out of Dodge ASAP!
ps- As for gold, true. But in that case the American greenback will be totally worthless. Historically speaking gold is always something of value internationally. I have no idea how such a scenario would actually work out. But you may still need to “pay” for things and services and gold always has value to trade in all but the most horrendous “Mad Max” scenario.
pps- I know you don’t know me from Adam. But I just can’t believe in my life time I’m taking this kind of stuff seriously. Heaven help us all!
July 13th, 2010 at 9:00 pmI think I finally found my second home so to speak. Its great to talk to others who think like I do.
What bothers me here though is the misconception that just because you are in a rural area, you will not need n-95 masks. On the contrary, if you know your science, head winds will blow and scatter dust,fallout,gas ect for long distances from target cities. Your little town may just be in the path even though you are hundreds of miles away. As one person stated…….READ…… this is your chance to educate yourself in many things to protect yourself and your family. Once you start learning, it becomes addictive
July 19th, 2010 at 12:51 amYour new knowledge may mean the difference between life and death. Survival supplies are great but if you don’t have a clue as what your doing, bend over and kiss your butt good-bye. Be smart my friend……..good luck.
Now I can get to the important stuff. We have been doing the survival thing for many years and feel more now then ever before that something bad is in the air. I’m not alone by far. Since we are a family with 6 teens and their girlfriends and boyfriends,plus 2 tots, believe me, supplies are costly. BUT life is important to protect so we do without some luxuries, like movies,eating out,newspapers (instead use internet) and buying things we really don’t need. We make a list and stick to it and ask “Do we really need this?” By saving money like this we were able to buy 25 # 10 cans the first 2 months. Just think what food supply we can buy if we quit smoking? (which is next).
July 19th, 2010 at 1:33 amOur survival pantry consists of VARIETY of foods. Many are mix and match to create many more meals then just the can alone. We also buy bulk at Sam’s Club for items like toilet paper and paper plates ect plus cheap pop and bottled water. Can’t forget the potty stuff right? Basics should be Salt,Sugar,Flour,Baking Powder,Oil, and baking Soda. Start with that and then go to other things. These are your life or death items. Stay away from store bought cookies and treats. They will not store well and waste your money. Learn how to do these yourself from scratch in a smaller quantity. Plus they will be much tastier…….Will continue later……………….
If anyone told me 5 years ago that I’d be looking into survival sites, I’d have thought they were crazy. I have just begun to acquire items. I have started out small–getting things from the Dollar Store, Walmart, and supermarket sales. I am able to purchase toiletry items–feminine needs, soap, disposable razors, wood stick matches, bandaids, toothbrushes, cloth baby diapers, diaper pins, and a myriad of other non-perishable necessities that may be impossible to secure in the event of a serious disruption of services. I have enough toiletries & non-perishable foods (sugars, salt, vinegar, baking soda, cream of tartar, dried spices) for two families of 4 for 1 year. Next, I hope to begin investing in freeze-dried and dehydrated foods for 1 year. If things are really bad, the families will need to relocate to an area where they can grow food and where water is accessible. The 1 yrs’ worth of food can carry them over until they can harvest, preserve, and can their gardens. Since these containers may not be opened for 10 yrs or more, I have a master list of every item and the number of items for each household. Also, each container is lined with a contractor’s grade trash bag, individual items are packed in zip-lock bags, and a record of every item and the number of that item is on an index card in a clear ziploc bag attached to the inside of the container’s lid. It is a time-consuming and expensive project, plus the storage bags and containers cost money. But the peace of mind for myself and my children and their small families is priceless. I guess you could consider it a labor of love.
August 16th, 2010 at 3:06 pmThank you for the comment & due to your comment we have looked into getting Natural Energy & now we are carrying Goal0 products in our Generators & Batteries section of our web site. Please take a look and I hope this great new product will help you out.
September 10th, 2010 at 10:58 amThe reason why you use 12 Volt appliances is that the energy that is required to use them is very minimal. So you depending on your power source if its Natural Energy like a Solar Panel or a Gas powered generator it should manage multiple smaller supplies, unlike your average Deep Freezer will use 800 to 1500 Watts in order to keep your food frozen and that will use up all your power.
September 10th, 2010 at 11:03 amHello, a friend just purchased a new HEPA purifier and it’s great.
January 3rd, 2011 at 2:29 pm