Pillar
Shelter and Home
Most people shelter at home. This pillar covers heating and cooling without poisoning yourself, insulation triage, water intrusion, defensible space and the cheap fixes that matter most.
Guides
No guides published in this pillar yet. The resources below are worth reading in the meantime, and the newsletter announces each one as it lands.
Resources worth your time
5 vetted links for shelter and home, annotated so you know what each one is for before you click.
- Government or standards bodyDataFree
FEMA Flood Map Service Center (opens in a new tab)
FEMA
Look up whether your address sits in a mapped flood zone. Worth ten minutes even if you are certain you are not, because flood insurance and mortgage requirements both key off this map.
- Government or standards bodyDataFree
AirNow (opens in a new tab)
EPA
Official air quality index with wildfire smoke overlays. Pair it with a plan for indoor air, because during a smoke event the indoor number is the one you can actually change.
- Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree
Carbon Monoxide Information Center (opens in a new tab)
CPSC
Generator and heater placement rules, and the reason those rules exist. Carbon monoxide kills more people after storms than the storms do, and the fix is free: distance and a working alarm.
- Government or standards bodyGovernment agencyFree
Cooperative Extension System (opens in a new tab)
USDA NIFA
Find your state extension office. Extension publications are the most under-used preparedness resource in the country: tested, local, free, and written by people who answer the phone.
- Established nonprofitNonprofitFree
Firewise USA (opens in a new tab)
NFPA
Defensible space standards and the zone system around a structure. Zone zero, the first five feet, does more than anything else on the list and costs nothing but a Saturday.