Cuyahoga County - Local Emergency Planning Committee
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Protecting
Your Family During a Chemical Emergency |
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How will I know there is an emergency? If
there is an emergency release of a toxic chemical that could affect you and
your family there will be an Emergency Alert System (EAS) broadcast with
instructions about what to do. The primary originating station for EAS is
WTAM 1100 AM and the secondary originating station is WGAR 99.5 FM. Other
stations may also pick up the broadcast, but it is advisable to tune in one
of these two stations in the event of an emergency. There may also be
information on television and other sources of news. Contact the Emergency
Coordinator for your community in advance to learn about the system in place.
Planning in advance for an emergency is always recommended. The contact name
and telephone number for your Emergency Coordinator can be found on this site
in Maps.
Click on your community to obtain the contact information. You
may be asked to Shelter-in-Place or Evacuate. What is Shelter-in-Place? If
local public officials ask you to shelter-in-place it means that you should
protect yourself and your family by using a building or structure to reduce
the amount of exposure to the chemical or chemicals in the outside air. This
method is often chosen as a means of population protection for small toxic
releases with a short duration or when there isn't sufficient time to protect
people from exposure in an evacuation. If you are asked to shelter-in-place
please follow the steps below. Go
inside immediately. Take yourself and anyone near you inside an enclosed
structure, whether it's a house, business, garage, or vehicle. If you know of
a handicapped person or unattended child in your neighborhood, call and tell
them to remain indoors. Keep any pets inside also. Close all doors, windows,
and other sources of outside air. Turn
off air conditioning or heating systems, and close the fireplace damper to
keep chemical vapors from entering the building. Ceiling fans or rotary fans
inside the building can be safely used to keep cool. Gather portable radio,
flashlight, and extra batteries. Move
into an interior room, preferably a room with no windows. From the inside of
the room, cover any outside doors, windows, ceiling vents, and other sources
of outside air with plastic sheeting and masking tape. Place a wet towel or
sheet along the bottom of the doorsill. If you smell any unusual odor or have
trouble breathing, you should sit down, cover your nose and mouth with a damp
washcloth and then take slow, shallow breaths and try to stay calm. Stay
off the telephone. Do not call police, fire or 9-1-1 unless you are reporting
a police, fire or medical emergency at your location. Overloaded telephone
circuits may stop actual emergency calls from getting through. How will I know when the emergency is over? Stay
inside, sheltered in place, until you receive further instructions via an
emergency broadcast or from local authorities via some other means. If
you are asked to open doors and windows and go outside, it is important to
follow those instructions. When the toxic cloud has passed it will be safer
outside. If Evacuation is ordered by local authorities:
If you have children in school:
Further
general and technical information about Shelter-in-Place can be found at the
Website for the National Institute for Chemical Studies at www.nicsinfo.org.
There you will find publications and other information regarding both
Shelter-in-Place and Evacuation. |