Can People See Your Shelter in Place Signs?

Where evacuation is risky—in events like chemical or radiological explosion, a gas line break, a leak from a nearby plant, terrorist threat—sheltering in place is the only recourse to defend yourself and those around you.

The Red Cross, Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and many other organizations provide excellent tips to prepare for and survive such situations that warrant shelter in place, whether at home, at work, in school, and even when you’re inside a vehicle.

When you’re responsible for safety in your workplace, besides following the guidelines for sheltering in place, you should also pay special attention to your signage.

Without conspicuous signage, all your efforts to protect occupants go to waste. People must quickly identify and collect in the safe room when the shelter-in-place warning goes off.

This signage must be highly visible for occupants to spot it, day or night, and visible from all directions. This would be installed right above the room designated as shelter-in-place. It is also a glow sign (like most emergency signs) which functions without electricity.

Directional signs are also important in emergencies. Your occupants may be familiar with shelter-in-place preparations, but contingencies can still cause a panic. Arrow signs aid in smooth navigation. Such signs are even more critical if your building is a large one or when there are multiple shelters spaced out from each other.

Check out SmartSign’s line of Shelter in Place signage!