this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2024
241 points (98.8% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26239 readers
1364 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

We had a false alarm go off in the building where I work last week. The elevators automatically shut down forcing the use of the fire escapes. The building is 22 floors. I was lucky in that I’d just taken the elevator to the first floor to step outside on a break. When they finally let us back in, I wondered what someone with mobility issues is expected to do had the building been on fire. Just die? Have a kind soul carry them? With most people wfh at least a couple of days per week, this seems really dangerous for anyone who might get stranded.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] GbyBE@discuss.tchncs.de 26 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (5 children)

In my workplace, there are a few options: When a disabled person is on a certain floor above ground floor, there will be a special chair they can be put in, that allows one person to maneuver them down the fire escape. Multiple people in the company are trained on the use of this contraption and are notified before the evacuation is necessary.

When there are more wheelchair bound people in the building than there are evacuation chairs available, they'll have to be taken to the fire escape behind double fireproof doors, where the area is pressurized with clean air. There the firemen will evacuate them.

A third option is the area where the elevators are. It closes automatically and has a fireproof door where you can wait in front of the elevators for the firemen to evacuate you using the elevators (or otherwise).

Normally there aren't that many wheelchair bound people in the building that need those chairs, because visitors are normally confined to the ground floor. On a floor where a disabled person used to work (now retired), one of those chairs was permanently available.

Edit: the ones we have resemble these https://evac-chair.com/

[–] Summzashi@lemmy.one 12 points 1 month ago (4 children)

These things are absolutely terrifying btw. There's much better options out there. I never realized until I had the chance to ride one during a practice, I replaced every single one of them for our company after that for evacuation mattresses.

[–] GbyBE@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 month ago

We have a different brand, but otherwise comparable. During our training and practice, we did a few runs with volunteers and also with the colleague who was wheelchair bound. While it does feel a bit weird the first time, it doesn't feel unsafe to sit in, and also when operating it, you feel like in control without too much effort.

During our evacuations, everybody remains calm, and everything remains orderly and coordinated. I have to admit we never had an evacuation with fire and smoke near the people, but with the early warnings we get, that's unlikely to happen. The building was designed with good compartmentalisation, so even when there's a fire, the smoke shouldn't spread too far.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)