Shelter and Home Safety

In most emergencies, your own home with your own supplies is the safest place to be. General guidance.

Sheltering means taking protection in your home, your workplace, or another building when conditions call for it. It can last minutes, as in a tornado warning, or much longer. In every case, stay informed and follow the instructions of local authorities.⁠^[1]

Leave when officials tell you to, or when the home itself is unsafe: fire, serious structural damage, flooding, or no way to stay warm or cool. General guidance. If you live in a mandatory evacuation zone and local officials tell you to evacuate, do so immediately.⁠^[2] See Evacuation and go-bags below.

Sheltering in place against bad outside air (a chemical release, heavy debris in the air, or contaminated air):⁠^[1]

1. Bring everyone, and your pets, inside.
2. Lock the doors. Close the windows, air vents, and fireplace dampers.
3. Turn off fans, air conditioning, and forced-air heating.
4. Take your emergency kit to an interior room with few windows.
5. If told to, seal the windows, doors, and vents with thick plastic sheeting and duct tape. Cut and label the sheeting ahead of time and keep it in your kit.
6. Listen to local media for official news. Authorities may not have information right away.

Mass care shelters provide food, water, and basic services, but bring your own kit. All shelters accept service animals; many do not accept pets, so plan where your pets can go. To find an open shelter, text SHELTER and your ZIP code to 43362.⁠^[1]

A fire can become life-threatening in two minutes. Smoke and toxic gases kill more people than flames do.⁠^[13]

A working smoke alarm significantly increases your chances of surviving a home fire.⁠^[13] Put them inside and outside each bedroom and sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including the basement. Choose interconnected alarms, so that when one sounds, they all sound. test monthly, replace every 10 years.⁠^[12]

Fire extinguisher: keep one in the kitchen. Your local fire department can show you how to use and maintain it.⁠^[13]

Escape plan:⁠^[14]

• Find two ways out of every room, including windows. Make sure windows open and security bars have an inside emergency release.
• Pick an outside meeting place a safe distance in front of the home, such as a mailbox or a neighbor's house.
• Practice the plan twice a year, including crawling low under smoke.
• Assign someone to help babies, children, and anyone with limited mobility, plus a backup.
• Once you're out, stay out. Never go back into a burning building. Tell the fire department if someone is missing.

If you can't get out: close the door, cover vents and cracks with cloth or tape, call 911, and signal at the window with a light-colored cloth or a flashlight.⁠^[13]

Emergencies raise fire risk. Keep candles at least 12 inches from anything that can burn, or use flameless candles. Keep anything that can burn at least three feet from space heaters. Never use a stove or oven to heat your home.⁠^[13]

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas that kills without warning. More than 400 Americans die each year from CO poisoning not linked to fires. Furnaces, water heaters, generators, grills, and cars all produce it.⁠^[15]

Put battery or battery-backup CO detectors near every sleeping area. Check the batteries when the clocks change each spring and fall, and replace the detector as the manufacturer says, or every 5 years.⁠^[15] Ready.gov also advises a CO detector on every level of the home.⁠^[16]

Symptoms: headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, confusion.⁠^[15] People who are asleep or drunk can die before they notice anything.

If a CO alarm sounds, or anyone has these symptoms, get everyone outside into fresh air and call 911. General guidance.

Prevent it:⁠^[15]

• Generators: never inside a home or garage⁠^[15]. Run them more than 20 feet from windows, doors, and vents⁠^[15].
• Never heat the home with a gas oven. Never burn charcoal indoors. Never use a camp stove indoors.
• Have furnaces, water heaters, and other fuel-burning appliances serviced every year, and have the chimney checked.
• Never run a car in an attached garage, even with the door open.

Find out which hazards your home actually faces. FEMA's National Risk Index shows the natural hazard risk where you live.⁠^[18]

Things that help almost everywhere:

• Insurance: a standard homeowner's policy does not cover flooding or earthquake damage.⁠^[11] A flood insurance policy typically takes up to 30 days to take effect, so buy it well before you need it.⁠^[19]
• Documents: keep insurance papers and ID up to date, and keep copies in a secure, password-protected digital space.⁠^[2]
• Heavy objects: secure bookcases, refrigerators, water heaters, and televisions, and store heavy things on low shelves.⁠^[10]
• Heat: cover windows with drapes or shades, weather-strip doors and windows, and add insulation to keep heat out.⁠^[9]
• Tornado and hurricane safe rooms built to FEMA's criteria give "near-absolute protection." FEMA recommends involving a licensed design professional, and getting permits and inspections.⁠^[20]

This is general information, not engineering or insurance advice. Check local building codes and talk to a licensed professional before major work.

Build a go-bag so you don't have to scramble. Make sure everyone knows where it is.⁠^[18] Start with the basics from Ready.gov's kit list: water, food, a flashlight, a battery or hand-crank radio, a first aid kit, medicines, copies of important documents, and a phone charger with a backup battery.⁠^[26] Keep a kit in the car, too.⁠^[26]

Plan where you'll go:⁠^[18]

• Pick several places, such as a friend's home in another town or a motel, in different directions.
• Most public shelters allow only service animals. Find a place that takes pets.
• Keep at least a half tank of gas at all times. Gas stations may not work in a power outage.
• If you have no car, plan now with family, friends, or your local emergency management office.

When you leave:⁠^[18]

• Leave early enough to avoid being trapped by severe weather.
• If there is time: call your out-of-state contact, lock up, unplug small appliances, and leave a note saying where you went.
• Follow the official routes. Don't take shortcuts.
• Never drive into flooded roads: 6 inches can knock you down.⁠^[25]

Many states have designated evacuation zones and routes. Look them up on your state and county emergency management websites.⁠^[18] Stay in touch: see the Communications guide.