Safer Indoor Air: Recommendations on Wildfire Smoke for Community Spaces and Public Health Authorities

# Purpose

To provide public health authorities and settings such as shelters, group homes, drop-ins, community centres and community clinics with plain language information about reducing exposure to wildfire smoke while considering other indoor air quality goals, including protection from diseases that spread through the air. 

This information is intended for community and congregate settings, and may or may not apply to other types of buildings. 

# Topics Covered

• Respirator masks, filters and ventilation management
• Tips for buildings or rooms with no centralized HVAC system
• Tips for buildings with a centralized HVAC system
• Implications for infection control

# General recommendations

• Ensure that everyone in your region, catchment or neighbourhood has 24/7, year-round access to indoor spaces with comfortable temperatures and acceptable indoor air quality.
• Provide free, new respirator masks to everyone—workers, clients, patients and communities.
• Use high quality portable filtration and centralized heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) filtration whenever possible. For information on choosing, positioning and maintaining portable air filters and on using HVAC systems to improve indoor air quality, see this checklist.
• When outdoor air quality is extremely bad, close windows and doors and, if possible, reduce the amount of outdoor air coming in through your HVAC system.