A couple of points regarding James Holmes-Siedle's recent contribution on
Evac-chairs. Most of what James said I agree with and his well-argued
comments tally with our findings, but in our experience many Fire and Safety
officers are NOT keen on them either.
We have had a number of students for whom the transfer to an evac chair
would be very difficult (sometimes because of weight). We also have a couple
of students for whom transfer could be dangerous because of spinal ironmongery.
Our Fire and Rescue Service promises us 5min from call-out to arrival of the
first engine and 8 mins to the second. The "cupboard" seems a bit less
threatening in that context, but the general evacuation and reporting
procedures must be well-organised.
Dealing with the occasional library lift breakdown in a non-emergency
situation gives us more headaches!
Yours, Ron Hinton
Dr R.A.L.Hinton
Director, Tactile Diagrams Research Unit &
Senior Tutor to Students with Disabilities
Education Dept.
Loughborough University,
Leics. LE11 3TU
United Kingdom
Tel: 01509-222770 Fax: 01509-223912
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|