CSEPP

Evacuation means to leave where you are and go to a safe place. Emergency officials may ask you to evacuate temporarily because of a chemical agent accident at your nearby Army Post. They will tell you what areas to evacuate, what roads to take, which way to go and when it’s safe to return. Evacuations are carefully planned to get people out of an area safely and quickly. Your emergency officials already have evacuation plans for your community. To stay safe, leave immediately if advised to do so.

• Listen to emergency messages on local radio and television to find out if you are in an area that needs to evacuate. Write down the roads you should take and where you should go. The local radio stations for Powell County are 104.9 FM and 1470 AM. The local television stations are channels 27, 36, 18, and 56. The weather alert radios will also have public service messages.
• Take essentials for your health and safety such as medications and eyeglasses. Don’t take time to gather anything else.
• Keep car windows and air vents closed as you travel away from the danger area. Turn off the car’s air conditioner or heater.
• Do not call 911 unless you have a life-threatening situation such as a heart attack.
• If you need a ride, try to get a ride with a neighbor. If you can offer transportation to a close neighbor, co-worker, or unattached child without transportation who can leave immediately, do so.
• If you can’t evacuate for any reason, take shelter inside a building immediately. (See Shelter-in-Place section for more information on making your shelter as airtight as possible.) Listen to your EAS station(s) for further instructions and information.
• The schools will protect your children by evacuating or sheltering them. Don’t go to your child’s school unless told to do so by emergency or school officials. Listen to an EAS station to hear where and when to pick up your children.
• Talk with your family (or business associates) now about your plans for evacuating. Assign each person a job so that you can leave quickly. Establish a place to meet your family (outside of the affected area) if you are not together when told to evacuate.

Shelter-in-Place is an effective way to protect you from harmful chemicals that may be in the air. Emergency officials may tell you to Shelter-in-Place if an accident at your Army post sends a nerve or blister agent into the air. It is important to take shelter immediately and to end shelter immediately when told to do so.

Shelter-in-Place is a short-term protection. It requires you to stay inside a sealed room for no more than a few hours until the outside air is again safe to breathe. Harmful vapors can work their way into a closed building and even a sealed room. Therefore, you must leave your shelter when experts decide the outside air is cleaner than what may be inside. Depending on the situation, you may be told to ventilate the shelter and building, go outside, or leave the area.

Shelter-in-Place means to go inside your home or the nearest accessible building without delay. Close and lock all windows and doors. Turn off heating, air conditioning, and fans (any ventilation system). Shut all air vents (heating, cooling, circulation, and fireplace or wood stove dampers). Quickly shut yourself in a room you can seal off from outside air. Select a room with as few exterior windows or other openings as possible so that you can quickly seal it. Block all openings to the room where outside air can leak in. If possible, use pre-cut plastic sheeting and duct tape to seal cracks and openings that may allow outside air to come into that room.

Take a radio into your shelter so that you can monitor an Emergency Alert System (EAS) station for further instructions. If the shelter room you selected has no phone, take a cordless or cellular phone with you if you have one.

If your local officials recommend Shelter-in-Place:

• Do not call 911 unless there is a life-threatening situation like a heart attack.
• The schools will protect your children by evacuating or sheltering them. Tune into a local radio or TV station to learn where and when to pick up your children.
• Bring pets indoors if you can find them quickly.
• Go to a small room with few vents, windows, and doors. A bathroom may be a good choice if you can seal all openings that might allow outside air into the room.
• Bring a radio with spare batteries, medicine, food, or liquids that you might need over the next several hours. If you have a weather alert radio (indoor warning system) that will work in the shelter room, take it with you.

Follow instructions immediately when told to end shelter. In order to bring fresh, clean air inside for you to breathe, you may be told to let outside air into the shelter and building as quickly as possible. Open windows and doors and turn on all air circulation systems and equipment. Thorough and quick ventilation, once local officials tell you to do so, is crucial so that you breathe fresh air as soon as possible.

You may be told to remain indoors in a well-ventilated location, to go outside, or to leave the area and go to a specific location for medical screening and to ensure that everyone leaving the area is accounted for. If you cannot leave the area, you will be given special instructions to keep you safe where you are.

If you know you will be able to follow shelter or end shelter instructions quickly and effectively without help, ask a neighbor or nearby relative about assistance.