Where is the safest place in the City of Ember during a blackout and why?

In the story, the city of Ember has been experiencing blackouts on a more frequent basis. This is a worrying trend for the residents, and everyone is on edge as the blackouts begin to last longer and to become more frequent. The fear is that the generator which powers the city will soon stop working altogether, and the city will be plunged into complete darkness.

The safest place to be during a blackout would be at home. This is evidenced in the story itself. For example, during a week that had five blackouts back to back, people stopped visiting their neighbors. They refrained from stepping out onto the streets and instead relied on messengers to communicate on their behalf. You can read about this in Chapter 12, where Lina found herself carrying thirty-nine messages for her fellow citizens on one particularly frightening day.

Many of the messages sounded similar; people were canceling meetings and making their apologies for not being able to attend events. In short, the citizens of Ember felt much safer at home. Lina noticed that fewer people stood around talking under street lamps. They preferred to be indoors when the blackouts occurred.