How to Build a Shelter in Place Kit

If you’re like me and you live near a chlorine plant or railroad tracks, you may want to think about some serious “what if” scenarios. “What if that plant blew up today? If it did, what would I do if I couldn’t get out? What if I was unable to evacuate as directed? If I was stuck in my house, how long would I have to live?”

This is where Shelter in Place procedures come in handy.

Basically, Sheltering in Place is designed to protect you for a handful of hours should you fall victim to a chemical hazard, odorous or not, that will enter your general airspace. In some cases, even gas masks can’t help you because they only filter out particles of a certain micron size. Donning a gas mask if chlorine is in the air will not protect you, but oddly enough, it would stop mustard gas from entering your lungs. Sheltering in Place could help prevent all that.

The first thing you need to decide when building a shelter-in-place kit is to find the best spot for your family. Generally it is the innermost room with the fewest rooms and least amount of ventilation. However, you also have to take into account the number of people you’re going to shelter. Your hallway bathroom might be perfect for a family of two, but a family of four would go stir-crazy after 10 minutes. 10 square feet per person should be your base. Remember, we’re talking two to five hours max.

Once you’ve decided which room, gather some key supplies. Here is a working list of the most basic you’ll need:

Large, thick plastic

Scissors

Duct tape/ heavy tape

One large towel per door

Water (1 gallon per person + 2 gallons)

AM/FM radio w/ batteries

Large storage box to hold them all

Measure out the windows, vents, and doors of your shelter room. Pre-cut the thick plastic wrap so that it can fit over each window/vent/door and be taped into place. Obviously, do this from the inside since that’s where you’ll do all the work. Once you’ve cut a piece for each access point, tie them all together in the storage box along with the scissors and tape. If you want to get fancy, you can even label each piece to direct where they go. Sometimes the plastic can be bought pre-cut, but make sure that it will fit all applicable areas before you do so.

Once you do that, you need to develop an action plan and place a copy of it with the kit.

Make sure in your action plan you include stuffing a water soaked towel (that’s what those two extra gallons are for) into the doors BEFORE sealing them up with plastic.

Your box of emergency supplies should be located as close to, if not within, the Shelter in Place room that they will be used in. In your box of supplies you should also include items tailored to your family’s specific needs and creature comforts. A deck of cards, a few snacks, and definitely emergency medicine supplies could come in handy.

Remember, this little bit of healthy paranoia can do you wonders should you find yourself in one of those “what if” situations. You can build a majority of the kit just from digging around in your garage and the heavy plastic can be found at any Lowe’s or Home Depot. Remember that it is always better to be safe than sorry!