EDUCATIONAL/STUDENT FACILITIES FIRST CLASS EVACUATION
Evaccess and TripleAconsult guide the ‘Responsible Person’ through recent legislation for evacuating school premises in the event of an emergency.
The pandemic has made this year a particularly challenging one for educational institutions. The requirement for social distancing of students is forcing schools, colleges and universities to relocate classes and lectures to alternative provision.
Many buildings are already overcrowded, with far from ideal facilities. It is important to remember that for disabled students, staff and visitors, these locations must be accessible to all and must have an effective evacuation plan in place should there be a fire or other emergency.
To be specific, Article 14(b) of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RR(FS)O) states that: “In the event of danger, it must be possible for persons to evacuate the premises as quickly and as safely as possible.”
There are no caveats that exclude disabled people from this legal requirement. This leaves all those individuals and organisations involved in the management of fire safety in legal jeopardy in the event of a death or injury, as the result of a fire.
The Home Office has issued supplementary guidance, ‘The Fire Risk Assessment: Means of Escape for Disabled People’, which makes clear in ‘Section 1.1 Legal Overview’, that the responsibility for evacuation rests with the “Responsible Person” managing the building: the plan should not rely upon the intervention of the fire and rescue services to make it work.
Three years ago, the Grenfell Tragedy cost 72 lives, destroying many families. Almost a third of those who died were disabled people, not one of whom had a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) or an assisted escape device to enable them to evacuate safely. The subsequent Phase 1 Inquiry highlighted legal issues relating to the lack of evacuation planning for disabled people.
Forensic Investigator Dr Barbara Lane told the inquiry that she considers that the lack of provision for persons requiring assistance resulted in a substantial breach of the functional requirement B1 of the Building Regulations, in addition to breaching the
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RR(FS)O. The Equality and Human Right Commission (EHRC) submission to the Grenfell Tower Phase 1 Inquiry was clear that they believe that equality and non- discrimination duties have been breached by the absence of any plan for the evacuation of disabled people.
All these facts are highly relevant to managers responsible for evacuation of disabled students, staff and visitors in educational establishments. However, educational organisations and their service providers have significant challenges when devising evacuation planning for their disabled community, which are particularly time consuming and onerous.
Buildings are often old and far from ideal: access for disabled students and staff can be achieved through the use of lifts and stairlifts. However, the majority of these cannot be used during an evacuation during a fire. The issues are further exacerbated in student residential accommodation, as this is rated as one of the highest risk ratings for fire.
Many disabled people have complex impairments, which may fluctuate and be progressive resulting in the need for frequent reviews of their PEEP. A disabled student, staff member or visitor must have a PEEP for each environment that they will use throughout the day. To implement a safe evacuation plan that is legally compliant, it is necessary for multiple assisted escape devices to be identified with each one being suitable for the individual and the location.
Evaccess and TripleAconsult are both experts in their fields. We have worked in partnership for many years delivering cohesive, comprehensive services and cost-effective evacuation solutions to public and private customers.
Evaccess are highly experienced specialists providing high-quality equipment for a safe, dignified and reliable evacuation or access route in and out of a building. The end-to-end service includes site visits giving professional consultancy about the type of device required for any individual and specific location; training and ongoing maintenance.
A large range of equipment is available, including robust manual evacuation chairs suitable for every location and also sledges, mattresses, and slings. The impressive powered assisted escape devices enable individuals to be taken up or downstairs in a swift and safe manner, with only the assistance of one person. These can weigh far less than the person in the chair, reducing potentially life threatening that also risks injury to the operator.
Training, with the use of a dummy, simulates the specific evacuation scenario and specialists are on-hand to provide advice on an ongoing basis. On-site visits are completed in
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