Emergency Evacuation of Persons with Disabilities. Malcolm Paterson CMIOSH GIFireE Training Manager: First 5 Minutes

Transcription

1 Emergency Evacuation of Persons with Disabilities Malcolm Paterson CMIOSH GIFireE Training Manager: First 5 Minutes

2 Personal Introduction 25 years in UK Fire & Rescue Services in human resources, operations, training and development, fire safety enforcement and education, and risk management Fire Safety Advisor for 2 Hospitals Trusts in Central Scotland. Attended UK Home Office Emergency Planning College for courses in Business Continuity and Emergency Planning. Chair person for Strathclyde Emergencies Coordinating Local Working Group for Dunbartonshire to ensure emergency preparedness for natural or terrorist events. Experience in Fire Risk Assessment including 2 years inclusion on the UK Institution of Fire Engineers Register of Fire Risk Assessors. 3 years experience lecturing in Occupational Health and Safety and Fire Risk Assessment for Scottish College.

3 Terms of Reference Discuss disability access and egress options in the event of Emergency (Within the Built and To-be-built environment).

4 Strategic Questions What are the current strategies in place? What really happens? What are the legal issues? What problems are we faced with? What solutions are there? How can we ensure that our solution works?

5 Protect in place Current Strategies Horizontal Evacuation next compartment, outside, fire stair enclosure. Vertical evacuation using stairs Vertical evacuation using lifts Vertical evacuation with assistance

6 What Really Happens? Explosion at Bondi Junction 30th March 2009 Many of the residents were elderly and a total of 80 people were evacuated from the building, many carried down 20 or more storeys by firefighters 4 wheelchairs residents carried down. 4 firefighters per chair, crews rotated every few floors.

7 What Really Happens? Explosion at Bondi Junction 30th March 2009 Steel framed chairs were utilised to carry down residents by 2 firefighters. Residents felt that 4 firefighters were safer. Lighting was an issue visually impaired! Medications not taken during evacuation

8 What Really Happens? Explosion at Bondi Junction 30th March 2009 Some Lessons Learned Firefighter resources will require boosting of high rise evacuation required. 2 persons required for carrying a person down stairs, 4 for wheelchairs. Task is exhausting fitness of persons carrying.

9 The Legal Issues - AS3745: 2002 Procedures shall take into account the existence of emergency communication facilities or the lack thereof, the needs of people with disabilities and persons not familiar with the emergency procedures

10 The Legal Issues - AS3745: 2002 Persons with disabilities: Where practicable, an up to date list of the names, workplaces and other necessary information about persons with disabilities should be kept at the location from where the Chief Warden exercises control. The strategies for helping persons with disabilities should be discussed with the individuals concerned. In an emergency, persons with disabilities, whose disability is such that they require assistance should, be assembled in a safe place, and attended by at least one member of the ECO. Those incapable of using the stairs should be evacuated under the control of the attending emergency services. In the case of non-fire related emergencies, the EPC should prescribe the appropriate action to be taken

11 The Legal Issues - AS3745: 2010? Occupants with disabilities: List of disabled occupants Suitable Strategies Individual Plans Refuges Stairwell Evacuation Devices

12 Some Micro Problems Disabled rarely take part in evacuation exercises Often there is no register of people requiring assistance Communications? Staff training? Public Buildings no control of entry? Employee, visitor, contractor? Lifts are not to be used in an emergency Confidentiality? Temporary disablement? No help wanted whether required or not

13 Example Jenny was taking part in an emergency evacuation exercise. Her warden started evacuation the floor and gathered everyone at the fire exit to the stair. When the time came to evacuate she refused to enter the fire stair causing unnecessary delay in the evacuation of the building. Jenny did not tell anyone she suffered from a fear of crowds -Demophobia. This was the first time this issue was raised with management.

14 Solutions Long Term BCA Safe/Evacuation Lifts Short Term Training Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs) Documented Emergency Procedures

15 Safe/Evacuation Lifts Firefighting access lifts required by BCA MFB gives guidance (GL31 Use of lifts for evacuation) Eureka Tower Melbourne Research papers Requires a mind set change British Standard BS9999 allows fire fighting personnel or people with disabilities to use the lifts in the event of fire, provided the evacuation is managed and elevator system is suitably designed and protected by the building. European Normalised Standards EN 81-72: Fire Fighting Lifts and EN 81-6: Evacuation Lifts have adopted the British approach for emergency egress in multistorey buildings.

16 Warden Training Training

17 Assistance Registers Training

18 Training Emergency Procedures for Premises; Disability awareness; Disability evacuation etiquette; Moving, lifting and handling techniques; Good practice in communication, including use of communication systems; Appreciation of fire-resisting enclosures; and Importance of using pre-planned routes

19 Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans Explains the method of evacuation to be used by a disabled person in each area of a building. It should not be assumed that because a person is disabled that they will need or ask for a PEEP. Some will be confident that they can get out of the building unaided. It should not be assumed that people with hidden impairments such as a heart condition or epilepsy, and who normally would not have an access problem, might not require assistance in an emergency situation.

20 Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans Individual PEEPs Standard PEEPs Unknown Uncontrolled Visitors

21 Individual PEEP For employees and regular users of a building Written by management on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with the individual concerned Tailored to individual needs and includes detailed information of their movements during an evacuation It may be necessary to provide a plan for each building and room that they visit Once agreed, a copy should be kept by the disabled person concerned, the dutyholder and any other person who requires to know the content of the plan

22 Standard PEEPs For occasional visitors The provision of standard PEEPs takes account of the following: the disabled person s movements within the building; the operational procedures within the building; the types of escape that can be made available; the building systems, e.g. the fire alarm; and the existing egress plan. Provide options for disabled people to choose from. They are held at the reception points within the building and are advertised and offered to people as part of the entry/reception procedures.

23 Standard PEEP Example A visitor approaches reception, where there is a clear sign indicating the provision of a PEEP system. The visitor has a visual impairment and therefore requires information about the escape routes. The building operates a policy of the meeting organiser being responsible for visitors if an escape is necessary. The receptionist explains the process for obtaining support. The visually impaired person makes the meeting organiser aware of the need for assistance. All staff are trained in disability escape etiquette. Prior to the start of the meeting he/she points out the escape routes and offers to assist if necessary.

24 Standard PEEP Example

25 Standard PEEP Example

26 Standard PEEP Example

27 Unknown /Uncontrolled Visitors Where there are people within the building who do not pass a reception point or are not controlled, such as in a shopping centre, library or theatre, it is more difficult to gather information prior to the need to escape. In these instances a system of standard PEEPs should also be implemented and advertised. Training for staff is vital in this case as they will have to provide assistance and advice to disabled users of the building as the incident develops.

28 Unknown /Uncontrolled Visitors Example A museum is required to evacuate due to an alert in one of the galleries. There are a number of wheelchair users present. The museum has a high standard of compartmentation due to the need to protect the exhibits. This is an advantage in an escape situation and staff members have been trained to understand the safety implications of this fire safety feature. The communications process set up as part of the escape procedures for staff tells them where the alarm has been raised. They can then direct people who cannot use stairs away from the alarm point to a safer part of the building.

29 Sample Evacuation Options

30 Required by AS3745:2002 Must be in place for any evacuation system to work Includes guidance on disabled evacuation Emergency Procedures Can include reference to PEEPs Must be supported by regular training and exercising

31 Protect in Place Summary Horizontal evacuation away from the incident Vertical Evacuation lifts, self help, assistance Long term solution to change BCA Training Emergency procedures should encompass all of the issues above (PEEPs)

32 Thank You Malcolm Paterson CMIOSH GIFireE Training Manager: First 5 Minutes

33 Reference Fire Safety Risk Assessment: Means of Escape for Disabled People - HM Government Practical Fire Safety Guidance: The Evacuation of Disabled Persons From Buildings Scottish Government Evacuation and Life Safety Strategies for Super High Rise Buildings Sam Aloi, Jason Rogers Use of Lifts for Evacuation: Guideline No GL-31 Metropolitan Fire & Emergency Services Board Lifts for Emergency Evacuation in Apartment Buildings Than Singh Sharma, Yapping He and Mehan Mahendran, QUT