diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/fetch.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/fetch.py
index c242c8739d0..6a903ae5a27 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/action/fetch.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/action/fetch.py
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ from ansible.errors import *
 from ansible.plugins.action import ActionBase
 from ansible.utils.boolean import boolean
 from ansible.utils.hashing import checksum, checksum_s, md5, secure_hash
+from ansible.utils.path import makedirs_safe
 
 class ActionModule(ActionBase):
 
@@ -125,8 +126,7 @@ class ActionModule(ActionBase):
 
         if remote_checksum != local_checksum:
             # create the containing directories, if needed
-            if not os.path.isdir(os.path.dirname(dest)):
-                os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(dest))
+            makedirs_safe(os.path.dirname(dest))
 
             # fetch the file and check for changes
             if remote_data is None:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/paramiko_ssh.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/paramiko_ssh.py
index 797eeea9e02..0d7a82c34b5 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/paramiko_ssh.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/paramiko_ssh.py
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ from binascii import hexlify
 from ansible import constants as C
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError, AnsibleConnectionFailure, AnsibleFileNotFound
 from ansible.plugins.connections import ConnectionBase
+from ansible.utils.path import makedirs_safe
 
 AUTHENTICITY_MSG="""
 paramiko: The authenticity of host '%s' can't be established.
@@ -309,8 +310,7 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
             return False
 
         path = os.path.expanduser("~/.ssh")
-        if not os.path.exists(path):
-            os.makedirs(path)
+        makedirs_safe(path)
 
         f = open(filename, 'w')
 
@@ -347,8 +347,7 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
             # add any new SSH host keys -- warning -- this could be slow
             lockfile = self.keyfile.replace("known_hosts",".known_hosts.lock")
             dirname = os.path.dirname(self.keyfile)
-            if not os.path.exists(dirname):
-                os.makedirs(dirname)
+            makedirs_safe(dirname)
 
             KEY_LOCK = open(lockfile, 'w')
             fcntl.lockf(KEY_LOCK, fcntl.LOCK_EX)
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/winrm.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/winrm.py
index 8a42da2534b..dbdf7cd6789 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/winrm.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/connections/winrm.py
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ from ansible import constants as C
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError, AnsibleConnectionFailure, AnsibleFileNotFound
 from ansible.plugins.connections import ConnectionBase
 from ansible.plugins import shell_loader
+from ansible.utils import makedirs_safe
 
 class Connection(ConnectionBase):
     '''WinRM connections over HTTP/HTTPS.'''
@@ -213,8 +214,7 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
         out_path = out_path.replace('\\', '/')
         self._display.vvv("FETCH %s TO %s" % (in_path, out_path), host=self._connection_info.remote_addr)
         buffer_size = 2**19 # 0.5MB chunks
-        if not os.path.exists(os.path.dirname(out_path)):
-            os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(out_path))
+        makedirs_safe(os.path.dirname(out_path))
         out_file = None
         try:
             offset = 0
@@ -251,8 +251,7 @@ class Connection(ConnectionBase):
                     else:
                         data = base64.b64decode(result.std_out.strip())
                     if data is None:
-                        if not os.path.exists(out_path):
-                            os.makedirs(out_path)
+                        makedirs_safe(out_path)
                         break
                     else:
                         if not out_file:
diff --git a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/password.py b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/password.py
index 2e7633a067a..9506274e5f8 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/password.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/plugins/lookup/password.py
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ from ansible import constants as C
 from ansible.errors import AnsibleError
 from ansible.plugins.lookup import LookupBase
 from ansible.utils.encrypt import do_encrypt
+from ansible.utils import makedirs_safe
 
 DEFAULT_LENGTH = 20
 
@@ -98,11 +99,10 @@ class LookupModule(LookupBase):
             path = self._loader.path_dwim(relpath)
             if not os.path.exists(path):
                 pathdir = os.path.dirname(path)
-                if not os.path.isdir(pathdir):
-                    try:
-                        os.makedirs(pathdir, mode=0o700)
-                    except OSError as e:
-                        raise AnsibleError("cannot create the path for the password lookup: %s (error was %s)" % (pathdir, str(e)))
+                try:
+                    makedirs_safe(pathdir, mode=0o700)
+                except OSError as e:
+                    raise AnsibleError("cannot create the path for the password lookup: %s (error was %s)" % (pathdir, str(e)))
 
                 chars = "".join([getattr(string,c,c) for c in use_chars]).replace('"','').replace("'",'')
                 password = ''.join(random.choice(chars) for _ in range(length))
diff --git a/lib/ansible/utils/path.py b/lib/ansible/utils/path.py
index e49a2f7d553..ac5160402b2 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/utils/path.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/utils/path.py
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ __metaclass__ = type
 
 import os
 import stat
+from time import sleep
+from errno import EEXIST
 
 __all__ = ['is_executable', 'unfrackpath']
 
@@ -35,3 +37,11 @@ def unfrackpath(path):
     '''
     return os.path.normpath(os.path.realpath(os.path.expandvars(os.path.expanduser(path))))
 
+def makedirs_safe(path, mode=None):
+    '''Safe way to create dirs in muliprocess/thread environments'''
+    if not os.path.exists(path):
+        try:
+            os.makedirs(path, mode)
+        except OSError, e:
+            if e.errno != EEXIST:
+                raise