FEMA 453 Design Guidance for Shelters and Safe Rooms

m Turn on a radio or TV in the safe room and listen for
emergency information.
m If the safe room has a carbon dioxide detector, monitor it,
particularly if the time in the sealed safe room exceeds 1 hour.
m When the “all clear” determination is made, open the windows
and doors, turn on ventilation systems, and go outside until
the house has been fully aerated.
The following is a list of supplies for the safe room:
m Rolls of duct tape for sealing doors and securing plastic over
vents and windows
m Pre-cut plastic sheeting to fit over supply and return vents (also
for windows if they are judged to be less than airtight)
m Battery operated radio with spare batteries
m Flashlight with spare batteries
m Drinking water
m First aid kit
m Telephone (cell phone) for emergency instructions
3.5.2 operating a Safe Room in an office
Building
For the office-building safe room, the supplies are generally the
same as the home safe room listed above.
Procedures differ in that there are likely to be more exterior
doors to be closed and multiple locations for the switches that
control building fans. To ensure that all doors are closed and fans
are turned off, an emergency plan and checklist should be developed,
assigning employees to these tasks at various locations in
the building. The general procedures for the office building safe
room are as follows:
CBR ThReaT pRoTeCTion
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