alexseanchai | (no subject)

(no subject)

Doing a FEMA course on workplace safety procedures. This bit's on evacuation. "Do NOT use elevators unless instructed to do so by emergency personnel." Uh, what do people in wheelchairs do?

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There should be a place of refuge for wheelchair users which is fireproof for a legally specified minimum number of hours, and they should be listed somewhere as unable to evacuate the building in the event of a fire, so that the firefighters will know to go and look for them in the refuge. This is completely horrifying; my brother has nightmares about being trapped in a thoroughly sealed room in the event of a fire, hoping to get rescued but having no way of communicating with anyone who can tell him whether rescue is coming. But it's just about the only universally feasible solution if your only wheelchair access to upper floors is via lifts. Some places have a system where there are slings set up in or near fire escape stairs, so that a wheelchair user who can't mobilize on foot can be carried down the stairs by trained fire marshals. I think that's basically only viable for buildings of a couple of stories, it wouldn't really work for high rise.

In any case this information rly rly should be part of the safety briefing!

Yeah, one would think it should, but.

What she said. When I was the fire safety marshal for my floor at a job I had, one of my responsibilities was to round up those who couldn't navigate the stairs, collect them in one room and inform the firefighters of who was still in the building and where they were stationed.

Hope someone will carry them out, basically. I read a really good essay by a wheelchair-bound woman a while ago that revolved around things like this, but I can't remember who it was.

Le sigh.

In my former office building there was a sort of plastic sled/chair that could be slid down the stairs in a dire emergency.

In my current workplace, my boss (who uses a chair) is supposed to go to the glass-walled conference room, for maximum visibility I guess, and wait for firefighter assistance/escort. I am certain that someone would wait with her, just because of who works here, but it still sounds pretty tense.

Totally agree that this should be addressed in the standard training for everyone.

They actually make special equipment for that, which I'm pretty sure have to available under ADA.

In a pinch, it's the same procedure for anyone who can't get down the stairs due to smoke or fire; find a balcony or a window that's behind at least one closed door and where you'll be visible and able to get fresh air. Make sure someone knows where you are and await rescue.

It's... not ideal. The sleds, where available, are a MUCH better solution.

In the clinic, the answer is "be carried out by the doctors and nurses, or at least moved to a fireproof zone". Which we don't have any of anywhere near the eye clinic. And I as a volunteer am not actually supposed to help with the aforementioned carrying, in case I hurt myself or the patients concerned.

http://www.evac-chair.com/ every business that has an employee in a wheelchair (or is likely to have customers upstairs who may need one in an emergency) should have one of these. the price isn't listed but i'm guessing it's about $2000, which is a lot for an individual, but isn't that much for a business.

also these sling things are cheaper, but i think they'd work: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&field-keywords=promove%20sling&linkCode=ur2&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Apromove%20sling&sprefix=promove%20%2Caps%2C287&tag=trabasackcouk-21&url=search-alias%3Daps

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