Promoting Safe Egress and Evacuation for People with Disabilities

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Promoting Safe Egress and Evacuation for People
withDisabilities

• Shane Hogan
• Senior Standards Officer
• 13th November 2008

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A practical tool for facilities managers, health
and safety personnel and human resources
professionals

• To develop an understanding of egress issues that
  particularly effect people with disabilities
• To develop ability to identify egress features
  that are designed into buildings
• To develop ability to prepare risk assessments
  and emergency evacuation plans
• To give practical guidance on providing safe
  egress
• To identify good practice in safe egress

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Egress Issues for People with disabilities

• Mobility impairment, where the range or speed of
  movement is affected to varying degrees
• Sensory impairment, where the ability to gather
  information through the senses such as sight or
  hearing is affected
• Cognitive or mental health impairment, where the
  capacity to process information and react
  appropriately is affected and
• Hidden disabilities, where the disability is not
  physically apparent, but the stress of an
  emergency situation may trigger the condition,
  i.e. asthma or heart problems.

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Fire Exits Poor egress
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Fire exits Poor Egress
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Key Steps of Egress Management process

• Initial review
• Egress policy
• Planning for egress
• Implementing your egress plan
• Measuring performance of your egress plan
• Reviewing performance of your egress plan

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Key Elements of Egress management process

• Initial review of user needs, organisational
  practice and policies
• Developing an Egress Policy for your organisation
• Planning for Egress
• Implementing your Egress Plan
• Measuring performance of Your Egress Plan
• Reviewing Performance of Your Egress Plan

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Detailed topics include

• Alarm systems
• Strobe lighting
• Vibrating alerts
• Wayfinding
• Directional sound
• Handrails
• Photo-luminescent strips
• Signage LED illuminated
• Evacuation lifts
• Non-evacuation lifts
• Evacuation chairs
• Specific building types
• Risk assessment checklist

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Fire Exits Poor position of signage
Green Running Man sign
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Refuge areas

• Consider capacity issues
• numbers of building users,
• need for re-entry to building for buddy staff
• Fire resisting structure (30 minutes)
• Direct access to protected stairwell
• Two-way communications system
• Clear signage (including tactile Braille)
• Clear identification of location (e.g. stairwell
  A level 3)
• Advise management on limitations and restrictions
• Evacuation responsibility does not end at refuge
  area

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Refuge areas coding issues
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Refuge areas - Communications
Sequence Numbers 01-32
Translation Table
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Case Study World Trade Center

• John Abruzzo, Accountant
• Located on 69th floor
• Wheelchair user
• 1993 evacuation 6 hours
• 2001 evacuation 2.5 hours, using evac chair,
  emergency lighting and improved ventilation

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Key lessons

• Effective planning for egress requires a
  structured process with continuous improvement
• Consultation and individual engagement with
  employees with disabilities are essential
• Use a PEEP (Personal Emergency Egress Plan) to
  agree and document individual plans
• The building operator is responsible for complete
  evacuation of the building (not just to the
  refuge areas)
• For new build or major renovation projects, an
  evacuation lift provides an ideal solution to
  vertical movement
• Some powered evacuation chairs eliminate the need
  to transfer wheelchair user out of own wheelchair

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For more informationwww.nda.ie/egresshttp//
www.communities.gov.uk for Means of Escape for
Disabled People