FIREFIGHTER TRAININGAND FIRE & LIFE SAFETY

PRESENTED BYMARNIE PETERS

THE GLOBAL ALLIANCE ON ACCESSIBLE TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTS

(GAATES)

'Fire Safety for All' in Buildings 9-10 April 2015Dublin, Ireland

GAATESThe Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments

GAATES is the leading international organization dedicated to the promotion of accessibility of electronic and communication technologies and accessibility of the built environment.

www.GAATES.org

WHAT ABOUT ME ?What is the Plan ???

DON’T USE THE ELEVATOR!

ACCESS AND FIRE SAFETY

Building owners and managers develop Fire Safety Plans that address the needs of Persons with Disabilities by asking them to wait at the top of stairs for rescue.

I CAN’T USE THE STAIRS! Many codes and standards around the world fail to properly address the design and construction of SAFE firefighter elevators.

Still limited use of elevators for evacuation

FIRE SAFE ELEVATORS Coming soon to a location near me ?? Elevators as INDEPENDENT means of evacuation

ROLE OF FIREFIGHTERS

•Assess the situation•Ensure mass evacuation and verify buildings are empty

ASSIST in evacuation of persons with activity limitations??

DEFINING DISABILITY

Disability is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions.

An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; An activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; A participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations (World Health Organization).

WHY TRAIN FIREFIGHTERS?Statistics for Disability & Fire

•Physical disability was identified as a contributing factor in an estimated average of 15% of U.S. home fire deaths per year during 2007-2011 (NFPA)

•Elders with physical disabilities are more than twice as likely to be victims in home fire fatalities.

•85 percent of victims were killed in single family homes.

WHY TRAIN FIREFIGHTERS?Personal Preparedness

•71 % of respondents have no personal preparedness plan for disasters

•31 % always have someone to help them evacuate

•13 % never have anyone to help them

• 4.4% for people aged 15-24

• 6.5% for those 25 to 44

• 16.1% for those 45 to 64

• 26.3% for those aged 65 to 74

• 42.5% over 75 has a disability

DISABILITY AND AGING

Physical Disability

WHY TRAIN FIREFIGHTERS?

Limited movement of body parts (hands, feet, legs, joints) or complete loss of movement

• Common Examples: spinal cord injury, MS, Parkinson's, ALS, arthritis or a condition that restricts movement or complete loss of movement such as amputation

• Common Barriers: difficulty standing, walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, sitting

FIREFIGHTERS & PHYSICAL DISABILITY Appropriate vs. Dangerous

Lifts/Carries and Transfers

Use of Assistive Evacuation Devices, Evacuation Chairs

Assistive Devices• Avoid touching without

permission• Follow individual's directions• Wheelchair etiquette

TRAINING FIREFIGHTERS

TRAINING FIREFIGHTERS• Icebreaker and Myths & Facts• Disability and Emergency – Statistics • Disability Types & Emergency Response • Disability Related Supports & Equipment• Providing Assistance: Transfers & Guiding• Scenarios• Questions

TYPES OF DISABILITIES

• Vision• Cognitive• Learning• Mental Health• Speaking• Deaf/Hearing• Physical

• Self-Identification

• People First Language

• Avoid Victimizing /Patronizing Language

APPROPRIATE TERMINOLOGY

Old New

The disabled/The handicapped People w disabilities, disability community

Crippled, lame, suffers from, afflicted with, stricken with, victim of, invalid

Has a disability, is a person with a disability

Normal person, healthy, whole People w/o disabilities, able-bodied, person who is able to walk, etc.

Wheelchair bound, confined or restricted to a wheelchair

Person who uses a wheelchair

Dumb, mute Person who cannot speak

Spastic Person with cerebral palsy

Crazy, maniac, lunatic, insane, nuts, deranged, psycho, demented

People with mental illness, mental health disability

Retard, mentally defective, moron, idiot, slow, feeble-minded

Person with a cognitive, intellectual, or developmental disability

REMINDERS: APPROPRIATE

TERMINOLOGY

AIDS & ASSISTIVE DEVICES Assistive Devices:

Communication boards, evacuation chairs, etc.

Service Animals (Guide dogs, hearing ear, seizure dogs, mobility assist dogs, PTSD therapy dogs)

Support Persons Signage Language interpreters, personal care support workers, guides, etc.

Guiding someone with vision loss

HANDS ON EXERCISES

Conditions that affect cognitive abilities

• Common Examples: Down’s Syndrome,

Autism Spectrum, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum

Intoxicated persons: alcohol, drugs

DEVELOPMENTAL/

INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

• Be patient• Provide one piece of information at a time• Try to allow additional time• Move away from distracting environments

and to a quieter area

Disability Awareness

On Thin Ice

Cognitive/Learning Exercise:

One nigth ther saw a firer in a builing one man saw very injure he was rushed to hositipal and theree day he diad for interle njres.

One night there was a fire in a building. One man was very (badly) injured. He was rushed to hospital and after three days, he died of internal injuries.

Mental Health:

Types of Mental Health Disabilities• Mood Disorders: Depression, Bipolar

Affective Disorder • Anxiety Disorders: Generalized

Anxiety Disorder (GAD), PTSD, OCD• Thought Disorders: Schizophrenia,

Borderline Personality Disorder

Common Barriers: Heightened anxieties/fears/suspicions, difficulty concentrating

Speaking Disabilities:

Restrictions in ability to communicate effectively through speech

• Common Examples: stutterers, some people with cerebral palsy, voice strength, fluency, aphasia, or voicelessness

Deaf / Hearing Disabilities: Any significant loss of hearing to total deafness

• Common Barriers:Hearing, hearing alarms, reading lips or no

interpreter, English literacy

Communication without speaking

Universal Signs

Exercise: Communicate without speaking

Exercise: Communicate without speaking

Exercise: Communicate without speaking

Exercise: Communicate without speaking

Exercise: Communicate without speaking

Exercise: Communicate without speaking

Exercise: Communicate without speaking

Exercise: Communicate without speaking

Exercise: Communicate without speaking

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