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Perhaps it sounds foolish, but I'm telling my family to prepare just in case something awful happens. What's the harm of gathering a few things in a "safe room"?

Canned/dried foods, can opener, water, diapers & other baby needs, blankets, plastic & tape, radio, batteries and flashlights.

But I have one question. I assume one has to turn off the Air/heating system into the room. So, if the window and door are sealed, won't the air run out? What's to be done about this?

Please don't flame me. May seem silly, but it's a serious question.

Perhaps it sounds foolish, but I'm telling my family to prepare just in case something awful happens.

Well I did that stuff too Friday, but no tape yet, hope we get it in time. Being in the city of Chicago, I feel I am in a safe environment where I live, but who knows.

The idea is not to live in the safe room indefinitely. It is to keep chemicals, primarily, from coming in. You turn off the AC and wait for the chemicals to disperse. (Make sure you have a battery operated radio so you know what's going on.)

an o2 consentrator my son is on o2

...if the window and door are sealed, won't the air run out?

Chemical or biological WMD would be air born and flow with the wind, minimizing one's exposure and the need for extended sealed shelter.
I suggest you get a RX from your Dr. for cipro and keep close by, and also check for the closest routes to local medical facilities, (I am 1.3 mi. to local hospital).

But I have one question. I assume one has to turn off the Air/heating system into the room. So, if the window and door are sealed, won't the air run out?

Eminently reasonable question... I knew the answer back in the 1960's, but it's flown out of my empty head since then.

It's a function of the number of cubic feet in the room, versus how many people are in it, how much air they exhale with each breath ( per minute ) versus how many times you can rebreath stale air- you can rebreath your exhalations a few times before they grow so O2 depleted they are useless...

All I can tell you is that the bigger the sealed room the better, and a few oxygen bottles would be a great help.

reference your question on sheltering in place, hope this information helps-

The air conditioning feeds to your safe room should be shut off, plastic wrapped and duct taped over, and sealed. Any method air can use to enter the room from the outside is a possible source of contamination, including floor vents too, and should be all sealed.

That includes doors, windows, etc, and sheeting them with plastic and duct taping any place air can come into the room. Essentially you are making it airtight.

It isnt required to seal it forever, because CBRN weapons disperse after some time in the open air with wind currents and all that. I would stay put until I heard an all clear on the radio, heard movement outside. Basic rule-chem weapons are heavier than air, bio weapons may or may not be, and binary weapons ( doubt they have them) are a toss up.

Another thing to consider is that CBRN weapons are heavier than air- most of the time, but not all. Some are engineered to float for longer periods of time, like the Anthrax right after the 9-11 attacks.

Mostly they will sink to the lowest level of the terrain. Listen to the news to see what the "Hang time" of the agent is, and let that help you make the decision to leave your shelter. I personally would avoid taking shelter in a low lying room, but thats my choice. You have to choose your own area, and I am sure you have.

In World War I, soldiers who got mustard gassed usually got it from taking shelter in a trench or crater wher the gas had accumulated after an attack, as well as from the initial attacks. Always remember pockets can exist, especially if it is chemical weapons, in low lying areas or terrain depressions after an attack.

The air shouldnt run out in a safe room before you get the all clear to leave. You will probably have about 1-2 days of air in that room for a family of 4.

I'm wondering the same thing. Also, they say to go to an interior room with no windows. In our house, the only room without a window is the hall bathroom, which is hardly big enough for 6 people for any amount of time. Will the duct tape and plastic sheeting actually give any protection?

The TACDA JOURNAL OF CIVIL DEFENSE for Dec. 2002 featured an excellent article on preparation for a bioterrorism attack. It contains information on how to ventilate your safe room and also how to measure carbon dioxide levels if you don't have ventilation. The article was written by Kevin Briggs, Director, US Disaster preparedness Institute (USDPI). Suggest you procure a copy of the article for details. It is quite informative.

But I have one question. I assume one has to turn off the Air/heating system into the room. So, if the window and door are sealed, won't the air run out? What's to be done about this? Please don't flame me. May seem silly, but it's a serious question.

I won't flame you -- it's an excellent question.

As others have said, the plan is that you won't need to be in your safe room for an extended period of time -- by the time your air gets low, the majority of the threat will have passed. Chemical weapons disperse quite quickly. Biological weapons can can too, depending on type. The most intense kinds of radiological fallout have half-lives measures in hours or days at the most.

However, if you want to learn about "industrial strength" safe rooms, buy a copy of Pulling Through, by Dean Ing.

The first half of the book is a novel, depicting a family's efforts to survive the fallout from a (relatively) nearby multi-megaton nuclear blast. Given their location and the type of the blast, the fallout would have been guaranteed fatal. But they "pull through" by making a first class safe room, complete with its own air filtering system and geiger counter, out of materials available in any grocery store (yes, really). The story walks the reader through all the steps they have to take, and what they have to deal with, and serves as an excellent primer in survival and safe room construction.

The second half of the book consists of blueprints, templates, and technical details on the situations and construction projects described in the first half.

Hmm, it's been at least a decade since I read my copy, I guess it's time to go pull it off the bookshelf...