Shelter in place, step by step

Shelter in place or leave?

• Shelter in place means stay where you are, inside, and keep the outside air out.
• Evacuate means leave the area.

If you are told to evacuate, go right away. If you cannot leave safely, move as far from the problem as you can and shelter in place.² If you left, go back only when officials say it is safe. If you stayed in, stay inside until they say so.²

The first few minutes

Start with what your order says. Officials often spell out what they want. When a chemical tank leaked in Toledo, Ohio, in October 2026, ABC News reported that people within three miles were told to remain indoors, close all windows and doors, and turn off all ventilation that brings in outside air.³

Then, following Ready.gov's steps for staying indoors:²

1. Bring pets inside.
2. Go to an inside room.
3. Close and lock all outside doors and windows.
4. Close vents, fireplace dampers and as many inside doors as you can.
5. Turn off air conditioners and ventilation, or set the system to recirculate only, so no outside air comes in.
6. Listen to local radio or TV, and carefully follow the instructions they pass on.

If fumes may get inside

For a chemical or gas release, Ready.gov also says:²

• Seal the room you are in with duct tape and plastic sheeting, including gaps around doors and windows, cooling units and exhaust fans.
• If gas or vapor may have come inside, take shallow breaths through a cloth or towel.
• Do not go outside until officials say it is safe.

How the order reaches you

Orders like this go out through your county's emergency alerts, which can reach phones in the area.⁴

On an iPhone, Public Safety Alerts have their own switch, under Settings, Notifications, Government Alerts. It is on unless someone turned it off.⁵ If it is off, public safety alerts do not show on that phone. In Toledo, the first alert went out as an imminent-threat alert, and every update after it, including the order to stay inside, went out as a public safety alert.⁴ It is worth checking that switch today.

What to decide ahead of time

An order to stay inside can come in the middle of the night, miles from where something went wrong. In Toledo, the order for the three-mile area went out at 4:22 a.m.⁴ What makes it quick is deciding a few things ahead of time. It takes about ten minutes:

• Who closes what. Windows, doors, the fireplace damper.
• Where the switch is for your heating, cooling and fans.
• Which room you would use, and what tape and plastic you would need for it.
• Your phone's alert settings, for everyone at home.

Related

• The stay-inside family kit: what a household might keep ready for a day or two indoors.
• How to create a family emergency communication plan: how your household reaches each other when an alert goes out.
• Toledo, October 2026: what happened and what households learned: our account of the Toledo release.

If you would like official emergency warnings for your county and state in one place, that is part of what BeAware does.