Making means of escape accessible for all

April 11, 2023

Emergencies, such as fires, occur out of the blue. It’s natural for people’s flight responses – getting as far away from the danger as possible – to take hold during these situations so they can escape.

The Grenfell Tower fire is a disaster that remains fresh in our memories. There were 72 fatalities, including 18 children and 19 adults with social, mobility or cognitive impairments. 41% of the disabled people present in the tragedy died. These shocking figures highlight the importance of evacuating those who cannot help themselves.

In any building, whether an office block or housing unit such as a nursing home or flat complex, the chances are good to great that not all occupants are able-bodied. Their disabilities prevent them from evacuating as quickly or easily as other people. According to UK law, the persons responsible for a building must make provisions to evacuate disabled people in an emergency.

What the law says

In the UK, several acts detail the safe evacuation of disabled people from buildings. According to the law, you, as an employer or accountable person for a building, must factor in all aspects of emergency planning, which includes getting disabled people to safety.

The Equality Act 2010 describes disabled people as a ‘protected characteristic’ and places a duty on authority figures to make reasonable adjustments for them. A fire-protected lift or designated, second stairwell may be excessive, depending on the type of building and its occupants. However, having assistive devices, such as emergency evacuation chairs, is well within reason.

Apart from registration with the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), the new Building Safety Act 2022 describes the duty of the accountable person (AP). This can be a single individual, a group of designated safety representatives or an organisation. The AP must:

Maintain all common areas such as corridors and stairwells.
Perform ongoing risk assessments and implement contingencies to manage identified risks. This includes fire risks, structural failures and safety procedures for the evacuation of disabled people.

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places a duty on building owners, employers or other accountable parties to ensure that all people, including disabled people, can safely exit a building in the event of a fire. You should keep in mind that the role of the fire and rescue service is to ensure that people escape from a burning building. It’s the responsibility of the AP to implement evacuation strategies for disabled people.

Emergency escape and evacuation plans

Your emergency evacuation plan must address all eventualities, including the evacuation of those with disabilities. It’s important to realise that this is your responsibility and not that of the fire and rescue service.

This means that your means of escape, based on your risk assessments, must not rely on the interventions of the fire and rescue service to make them work. You must consult and coordinate plans with occupants and owners when devising emergency procedures. Here, you also need to consider the challenges of multi-occupancy buildings, where a central emergency strategy is needed.

One way to navigate this obstacle is by appointing on-site fire wardens. They can perform in-depth risk assessments in which they highlight the specific needs of the disabled people in the building.

These responsible persons must also evaluate the nature of the disabilities and devise emergency plans in line with them. Here, personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) are necessary. A personalised emergency escape may include various factors, such as building adaptations, to facilitate overall safety.

Devising a PEEP

It’s essential to involve all the relevant people, from construction crews and managing agents to the disabled in a building, when devising a PEEP. The following pointers are helpful for this endeavour:

Discuss the nature of the help needed with the disabled person. Not all disabled people need help and not all need the same type of help.
Include relevant training in your PEEP. This can be anything from the safe handling of an evacuation chair to where to put up emergency signage for disabled people.
If a PEEP won’t work, you should look at the relocation of the disabled person – for example, moving an immobile disabled individual to the ground floor near a fire door or emergency exit.
Never leave a disabled person with a PEEP to work alone. Remember, a PEEP will make provision for things such as slow-moving people or people needing rest during the evacuation. In a drill or emergency, disabled people might become panicked if there’s fast-moving traffic behind them.
Continuously review a PEEP and adapt it to include any changes – for example, a pregnant woman will not be pregnant and at risk forever.
When individual PEEPs are not practical, you should develop standards that include an emergency escape plan for disabled people.

Fire wardens play a vital role during an emergency and can help disabled people with a means of escape. Remember, these individuals need specialised training in emergency equipment such as AEDs and respirators.

Types of disabilities

Remember, not all people with disabilities will require assistance. Many disabled building occupants will be able to facilitate their own emergency escapes.

However, several disabilities require a PEEP or special help during emergencies. These include people with:

Mobility impairments, such as amputees in wheelchairs or bed-ridden patients.
Sensory impairments, such as sight and hearing problems.
Cognitive impairments, who don’t understand what’s going on and often panic during changes such as fire emergencies.
Medical conditions or injuries that make it difficult for them to move.

Building design considerations

Public and residential building designs must incorporate the needs of disabled people. For instance, accessibility to a building, such as built-in ramps, can also be helpful structures during evacuations. When designing or refurbishing a building for emergency escape, consider:

Destination zones or gathering points for disabled people. These must be easy to find and access and will help fire wardens with assisted exits.
The equitable accessibility of evacuation routes, emergency exits and gathering points. Channelling and assembling disabled evacuees through and in different spots can be confusing.
Spatial overview points give a bird’s eye view of emergency exits and assembly points. From a height, you can more easily spot emergency evacuation problems and obstacles that can hamper disabled people.
The layout of a building. Size and confusing turns can deter fluid and safe evacuations. Signage is a great help in these circumstances. Simple symbols show directions during emergency evacuations and where to find apparatus, such as fire safety equipment, fire doors and exits, respirators, AEDs and fire blankets.

You may have to make alterations to make your building more emergency-safe. These include:

Installation of ramps. If this is not feasible, you can always use portable emergency ramps.
Fireproof or fire-resistant elevators for the emergency escape of disabled people.
Fire doors to keep routes clear of fire and smoke.

Training

Regular training and drills prepare people for emergencies. They also raise the awareness of occupants about disabled people and help them assist these individuals in an emergency

A holistic approach, including sound evacuation routes, exits and assembly points, the right equipment, and targeted training all contribute to a safe emergency escape for disabled people. Here at Seton, our experts have sourced the best emergency signage and equipment to address disabled evacuation safety.