Button Up Concept – A Need for Community Disaster Preparedness

Abstract

In the volatile world of today, particularly after the recent pandemic of corona, the people in most countries have realized that the concepts like Lock Down, Button UP, Close Door Isolation are no more the myths but these are the realities of life which can be forced upon us any time in future. The present study explains the concept of Button Up Period and presents the solutions to ensure a safe and workable living environment under emergency and crisis situations. It presents the concepts of Emergency Homes, Dual Home/Multiple Home, Composite Homes and Work from Home (Normal & Emergency) which are based on Button Up Concept and are essential to safeguard the health and life of the people both during normal and emergency periods. The Indoor Air Quality Management System invented by BUNKERMAN [1, 8, 9] and presented in this study, performed well during the tests in Button Up Mode. The CO₂ level was automatically maintained in the room by the Facility management System (FMS) between 600 ppm and 800 ppm as per the settings selected by the users, While the ventilation system was off, the value of CO2 inside the closed room was found to be continuously increasing and the moment it touched the maximum value of 800 ppm set by the user, the CO₂ Removal System started automatically. At this time, the CO₂ level initially increased slightly beyond 800 ppm but it soon started reducing and it never went beyond 1000 ppm as prescribed by the codes and technical manuals on the subject. The TVOC levels were also increasing along with the CO2 when the ventilation system was off but it soon came down as the ventilation system started automatically and the inside air started to be filtered and circulated in the room by the Indoor Air Quality Management System. Similarly, the oxygen level in the room was always kept within the selected range of 17% to 21% by the user.