Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide For People with Disabilities

What Assistance Will the Person(s) Provide?

Guidance

• Explaining how and where the person needs to go to get to the usable circulation path

• Escorting the person to and/or through the usable circulation path

Minor Physical Effort

• Offering an arm to assist the person to/through the usable circulation path

• Opening the door(s) in the usable circulation path

Major Physical Effort

• Operating a stair-descent device

• Participating in carrying a wheelchair down the stairs

• Carrying a person down the stairs

Waiting for First Responders

Waiting with the person with limited mobility for first responders would likely be a last choice when there is an imminent threat to people in the building. While first responders do their best to get to a site and the particular location of those needing their assistance, there is no way of predicting how long any given area will remain a safe haven under emergency conditions.

This topic should be discussed in the planning stage. Agreement should be reached regarding how long the person giving assistance is expected to wait for the first responders to arrive. Such discussion is important because waiting too long can endanger more lives. If someone is willing to delay his or her own evacuation to assist a person with limited mobility in an emergency, planning how long that wait might be is wise and reasonable.