Wheelchair Elevator

I am in charge of coordinating a fire drill for our office next week.

Normally, all employees would use the stairs to get down (we are on the 6th floor), however, this year, we have someone in a wheelchair, and I'm not sure if we should use the elevator in this instance because it is just a drill, and if not, how she should get down.

Does anyone know what we should do in this instance, what would be the best way to approach this?

Most of the other answers are uninformed and dangerous. The ADA (US) and the DDA (UK) both have requirements regarding safe emergency evacuation.

The reason you have a fire drill is to problem solve these situations. A person in a chair cannot use the elevator, nor should they be carried down or bumped down the stairs as a plan.

Wheelchairs are not designed to be bumped down stairs and are much too heavy to lift and carry safely.

You cannot count on the designated strong armed people being at work that day or panicking. Many people with disabilities need very specific supports on their spine or a connection to a medical appliance and carrying them could present a danger to their life worse than the fire.

You have several possible solutions. The building depending on when it was built will have a safe from fire spot on each floor called "an area of refuge." This is near a fire door. A person who cannot manage the stairs - waits by the fire door for the fire crew to arrive. Fire personnel know to check there first.

They can wait by an open window with a telephone nearby if there is no immediate danger. They can be evacuated first.

Alternatively, you can get a special chair designed to get people in chairs out windows or down stairs safely.

http://www.evacusafe.net/?gclid=CNa6m4jq lpICFSK9FQodExm6-g
http://www.ferno.com/evacuation/
http://www.evacuation.stryker.com/produc t/index.htm?gclid=CPiG85DrlpICFSR6IgodzU Og7w

2008-03-17 23:27:46 by gwb_is_awesome

In front of an elevator in a subway station. A man in a motorized wheechair narrowly misses the elevator. As he angrily started to repeatedly ram ...

Has anyone ever investigated the cost of a home elevator system? For example, this one:
http://www.lucanus.ca/id50.htm
We've looked at stair lifts but an out of the way elevator would be preferable. I'd like just general costs, the websites never even hint at their costs .
Thank you
Forgot to add that it's just two stops (upstairs and downstairs).

We looked into them about a year ago and the costs vary widely depending on the bells and whistles you want to add. We were not looking at free standing models like the one you have the link to, we were looking at closet enclosures. (Where a closet space is used to conceal the elevator and its mechanisms.) For a very small one large enough to accomodate a wheelchair and one person, the cheapest one we found was in the $10,000 range with installation and a 5 year warranty on bare minimum accessories. You really have to email most of the manufacturers with your specifications for them to compile an estimate ( a lot has to do with whether there is electricity to the area, the space available for the lift mechanisms, etc.) Interestingly, if you have healthcare spending account funds, the elevator is not an eligible reimbursed expense even with a doctor's statement.

2008-05-05 10:23:32 by Mommabear

Price: $5.95 $5.95

We are told by the signs on the elevator that we can't use them in case of a fire. We then use the stairs to move, but there are those who are confined to wheelchairs and can't use the stairs.

When I was an RA, we had a list of rooms that needed assistance out of the building in emergencies. A lot of housing complexes will maintain something similar, and sometimes you'll see stickers on their doors.

If its in a public area, you'd hope to god that people are mindful of others and assist them.

If they're still available, rescuers can key into elevators to use them in evacuating those who need assistance.

2006-09-15 08:24:19 by kdawg M

when entering an elevator with a wheelchair patient..one should:

a. back the chair through the doors

b. continue to push the chair forward through the doors

c. hold the doors open and have the patient wheel himself through the doors

a, of course. Borrow a wheelchair and see how wrong it feels to do it the b. or c. way.

2009-06-26 14:29:27 by i<3yahoo

My sister is in a wheelchair. Her school is 2 floors and does not have an elevator for her to properly get to class. Is there a law that states if a school has a handicap child enrolled in school, they must have an elevator for the student to get from one floor to another?

It does not have to be an elevator but there has to be a dignified way for her to use the stairs. Many older buildings have a piece of equipment called a "stair climber" to move people in wheelchairs from floor to floor. Many older schools cannot physically install an elevator but can quite easily do the stair climber. There are a number of different commercial types available. Schools need the commercial type, not the lighter "in home" model.

I hope this helps.

2006-08-22 18:15:53 by Natalie