Promoting Safe Egress and Evacuation for People with

Disabilities

Shane Hogan

Senior Standards Officer

13th November 2008

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

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.

Fire Exits – Poor egress

Fire exits – Poor Egress

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

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

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

Fire Exits – Poor position of signage

Green ‘Running

Man’ sign

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

Refuge areas – coding issues

Refuge areas - Communications

Sequence Numbers

01-32

Translation

Table

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

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

For more information

www.nda.ie/egress

http://www.communities.gov.uk for ‘Means of Escape for Disabled People’