Hi,

Looking for some advice on evacuating disabled persons from a building.

Is there any legal barrier that prevents staff going back into a building to assist with the evacuation of disabled persons?

My view is that while not ideal, it would be acceptable unless it put the staff at risk, but I'd appreciate any opinions and advice.

Thanks.

 

There are no legal barriers to reentering  building on fire IMO but not a wise one, there should be a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) for each wheelchair user and the member of staff and the wheelchair user leave together. If there are more wheelchairs than staff then move all the wheelchairs to a protected refuge near a final exit then move them outside when all have been accounted for.

Thanks Tom.

The main issue is that there is one "Wheelchair Walker" device in the school that allows transport of a pupil without the need for them to leave their wheelchair, but there are two pupils in the school who need use of this device.

Looks like they will need to invest in a second walker!

Why do they need a wheelchair walker, can't they use their wheelchairs assisted by a member of staff and refuges?

They may be able to be carried downstairs in their wheelchair; I will need to find out what type of chair they use. Horizontal evacuation could be used, but I assume such a plan would also need to include the possibility that they would need to leave the building eventually depending on the extent of the fire.

Check out https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/422202/9446_Means_of_Escape_v2_.pdf may be helpful.

Thanks Tom. It turns out one of the pupils is in a manual wheelchair and can be transferred to an evac chair, or they can be carried down in their wheelchair.

The other pupil is in a heavy powered chair and he will need to use the wheelchair walker.

On 9/30/2017 at 14:23, Tom Sutton said:

There are no legal barriers to reentering  building on fire IMO but not a wise one, there should be a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) for each wheelchair user and the member of staff and the wheelchair user leave together. If there are more wheelchairs than staff then move all the wheelchairs to a protected refuge near a final exit then move them outside when all have been accounted for.

I'm surprised to hear that there are not legal barriers to reentering the building. I assumed that in most instances civilians would be barred from carrying out acts like that so that the professional emergency responders can tackle it efficiently. I might be wrong in this assumption though 

If the fire service is in attendance, or there is somebody taken charge,  then they are most likely to prevent you entering the building but it is still not illegal. 

On 10/17/2017 at 01:07, Tom Sutton said:

If the fire service is in attendance, or there is somebody taken charge,  then they are most likely to prevent you entering the building but it is still not illegal. 

Ahh I see, thanks for the clarification Tom! I was always under the assumption that it was illegal because I'd seen people stopped before. In instances of a fire and other emergency situations as well. 

I have a small issue with entering a building, the property is independent living with a staffed house opposite within 10m,  the fire alarm from the building is linked to the staffed house and due to a learning disability of the residents staff feel it would be appropriate for them to enter to ensure the residents are evacuating, the issue is all my fire warden training tells them not to enter another building when the alarm is sounding. 

Is this just a case of completing a risk assessment, producing guidance and completing specific training to ensure they understand what to do?

Jason

The role of the staff is to assist in the evacuation and if they leave the building as part of the evacuation, then it is very unlikely they will be stopped by the FRS if they re- enter the building.

In your situation you will arrive at the entrance long before the FRS so it is unlikely you will be stopped, but I do agree there is a need to produce guidance as part of the evacuation procedure to ensure everyone understands what to do?