Facility Safety Management

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Evacuation Chairs

Does your Emergency Response Plan Meet Everyone’s Needs?

BY JASON DEDARIO

Is your evacuation plan outdated? Does it need to be reviewed and made current? What new equipment is available to make evacuation safer, faster, and easier? These are all questions that a facility managers and safety directors should be asking.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Life Safety Code 101 requires that all multi-story buildings have a complete and thorough evacuation plan in place. It’s your responsibility as facility manager to ensure that this plan takes into account all of your tenants and occupants.

An adequate plan must include safe and timely evacuation options for not only the mobile, but for individuals who are disabled or have difficulty with self evacuation on their own. In addition to a plan being in place, many occupancy types are required to practice their evacuation plan on a regular basis, as often as practical.

Over the last 50 years, building codes and construction materials have changed dramatically, which has also changed how we look at evacuation procedures. In the past, evacuation procedures outlined by NFPA for the disabled were to find an area of refuge. This area could simply be the next occupancy if the building was equipped with automatic sprinklers. In many older buildings this area would be oversized landings in stairwells.

However, these evacuation techniques do not offer the safest procedure for those with difficulty self evacuating, and can impede stairwells and evacuation routes. The key challenge is how to safely evacuate a large number of people in a small amount of time, while meeting the needs of all the occupants. In addition to accounting for mobile individuals, there are additional factors impacting a person with a physical disability. Does your evacuation plan account for evacuation of disabled staff and address their needs?

Another factor impacting evacuation is that federal law prohibits the use of elevators during a fire. Disabled staff, or individuals who have difficulty with self-evacuation, must still be evacuated in a safe and timely manner, but without the use of a building’s elevators.

There are several products that are available to assist in the evacuation of occupants, both mobile and disabled. These products include, escape chutes, controlled descent devices, sleds, and evacuation chairs.

Escape chutes and controlled descent devices are not currently recommended or permitted by U.S. based codes for commercial and public buildings, which rule them out as an option for many facilities. Sleds are large, slick devices that require significant training for safe operation. The most popular option today for safe evacuation of occupants and tenants from multistory facilities are evacuation chairs.

Evacuation chairs allow individuals to help others negotiate steps and quickly evacuate them to an area of safety. Evacuation chairs have several features that make them a central component in your facility safety and evacuation plan.

Common evacuation chairs on the market include tracks, four wheel designs, adjustable handles, footrests, and passenger restraint systems. In addition, some evacuation chairs are available with storage hooks, covers or cabinets to allow them to be placed in the areas of need, without interfering with the work area or hindering the aesthetics.

Tracked evacuation chairs are designed to take the passenger’s weight and transfer it onto the stairs, not the operator, which reduces the chance for injury or fatigue. Tracked chairs usually allow an individual 200 pounds or less to be safely and quickly evacuated by a single user. Operators only need to help glide the chair down the steps. You should also consider evacuation chair designs that include four wheels.

These designs allow a single individual to push a passenger around landings, down hallways, or over any flat surface. When looking at evacuation chair options, consider the footrest and restraint system.

These systems increase passenger comfort, which reduces their anxiety, and keeps them in the best position for safe descent. They also prevent the passenger from accidentally falling off the chair. There are many different restraint systems available for these chairs, including a complete system of shoulder and lap restraints.

When developing an evacuation plan in a multi-story building, a facility manager must consider all of their occupants and tenants, and what equipment is required to safely evacuate those individuals in a timely manner.

For more information on the development of evacuation plans with special considerations for the needs of the physically handicapped, or those with limited ability, please see the National Fire Protection Website at www.NFPA.org and search evacuation plans. FSM

Jason DeDario, MPM, EMT-B, is a 16-year veteran with the Kettering Fire Dept. in Kettering, OH, where he serves as a Captain and EMT-B. In addition to those duties, Captain DeDario serves as a planning team manager for FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue Team, Ohio Task Force One.