What To Do During Periods of Hazardous Air

During the fire season in the Pacific Northwest, air quality can become a serious health risk. You can check current conditions at the following sites:

The Tate Building Committee recommends residents do the following to help us maintain health and comfort during periods of hazardous air.

What you can do to protect yourselves:

  • Stay indoors: The primary recommendation is to minimize outdoor exposure.
  • Close windows and doors: Keep all your windows and doors tightly closed to prevent outdoor pollution from entering your home. The building ventilation system draws outside air into the building, so it is very important you keep your windows and doors closed.
  • Use air conditioning: Use your air conditioning and run it continuously to filter the air. The fans in our personal HVAC units can be run continuously. Replace the filters in your HVAC as recommended.
  • Air purifiers: Portable air purifiers are very effective. Use a HEPA purifier at the minimum. It is recommended you use a purifier with HEPA filter, an ionic generator and a UV light for the best protection. Ask The Tate Building Committee for recommendations when purchasing an air purifier.
  • Limit outdoor activities: Reduce strenuous outdoor activities like exercise or gardening.
  • Wear a mask: If you must go outside, consider wearing a well-fitting N95 or KN95 mask.
  • Stay informed: Check air quality forecasts and alerts from your local air quality agency.
  • Reduce indoor pollution sources: Avoid using your gas stove and other sources of indoor pollution.
  • Clean regularly: Use a wet mop or dusters to clean indoor surfaces and remove dust and ash.
  • Shopping for groceries and other necessities: TrackTown Pharmacy will deliver your prescriptions to your door. Consider using DoorDash or Grubhub to deliver hot meals. Consider on-line grocery shopping and delivery; Albertsons, Safeway and Fred Meyer all deliver groceries at a reasonable cost.

What the Tate Community will do to protect you:

  • Turn off outside air sources: The Tate will turn off the economizers for the HVAC units that bring in outside air into the common areas of floors 2 through 6 of the building. The Tate will damper the outside air intake for the heat pump that serves the gallery and lobby of the building.
  • Furnace filters: The Tate provides filters for your  HVAC unit. Contact a member of the Building Committee.
  • Personal assistance: The Tate community will organize help for residents who are unable to go outdoors for shopping and other errands.