Fire Drill

People with disabilities face unique concerns in the event of a fire. The ability to detect a fire or escape its effects may be hindered by hearing or vision challenges, cognitive impairments or mobility restrictions. But don’t despair: Taking the steps below can help to ensure your safety in a fire emergency.

Use Appropriate Fire-Protection Technology

Proper placement and maintenance of smoke alarms is the key element to every fire-safety plan. In the event that calling 9-1-1 would pose a challenge, fire-notification systems can be linked to fire-monitoring stations to summon help from emergency services.

People with substantial hearing difficulties cannot rely on traditional audible smoke alarms, but can instead use visual alarms equipped with high-intensity strobe lights. Consider a vibrating bed and pillows that can wake and alert you to the presence of a fire.

Owing in part to advocacy of The Canadian Hearing Society, Ontario’s Building Code now requires visual fire alarms and emergency notification systems in the public hallways of most new buildings, such as arenas, apartment buildings, offices, hospitals, at least 10 percent of the sleeping quarters of hotels or motels, and in seating areas of theatres and other entertainment facilities.

The current law does not address who is responsible for the cost or installation of visual fire alarms and/or notification systems within individual apartment units, new condominium units or new homes. So, before you purchase or rent a new home, negotiate with the landlord or seller to have your need for special accommodation included in the contract.

Remember, for maximum effectiveness, all alarms or vibrating devices should be linked to smoke alarms located in the common areas of the building. Centrally located alarms will trigger linked alarms in other occupied areas, providing early warning and more time for escape. Reputable alarm and security system installers are capable of connecting alarms to a central monitoring station.

Individuals who are blind or visually impaired may be unable to see the size or exact source of a fire, and people with significant mobility or cognitive impairments may have difficulty putting out even a small fire. Fire spreads quickly, becoming a serious threat, so consider equipping your residence with automatic fire sprinkler systems that can also be connected to full-service monitoring stations.

Create and Practice Your Escape Action Plan

Consider your specific needs and the features of the environment where you work or live. Fire codes require building owners and managers to address tenants with disabilities in their fire-safety plan. It is a good idea to make yourself known and insist that you be consulted in decisions that affect your safety.

Essential to fire-safety planning is identifying escape exits and potential barriers. It is important to practice evacuation plans to reduce confusion and improve chances of timely evacuation in the event of a real emergency.

Many people have unrealistic expectations about their ability to evacuate in an emergency situation. According to the World Fire Statistics Centre, an estimated 10 percent of the population would have difficulty evacuating a building using stairs. People with visual challenges may find sight further hindered by smoke or limited emergency lighting, while high decibel alarms are likely to interfere with communicating emergency evacuation instructions. By planning and practicing an escape plan, little time is lost searching and feeling for an exit in the event of an actual emergency.

People with mobility issues must be particularly diligent when cultivating a fire-escape plan in both public and private places. This plan may be as basic as living or working on the ground floor. Practicing exit drills is important to predetermine barriers in crisis situations.

If you experience mobility impairments, you may not be able to exit a building in the same manner by which you entered. This is an important consideration for people with a broad range of conditions such as arthritis, heart conditions, asthma, or injuries, not just for those using wheelchairs or scooters.

During a fire, elevators are unsafe as they can trap users inside a burning building. In fact, the heat emanating from a fire may activate the button to call the elevator, thereby bringing elevator riders directly to the floor of the fire. Specialized motorized equipment and manual evacuation chairs are available to transport wheelchair users and others with mobility issues down flights of stairs.

When escape is not an option, fire-protection devices, such as sprinkler systems, fire-resistant separation walls and predetermined “areas of safe refuge” can all be part of approved fire-safety plans.

It is important for all individuals, and particularly those requiring special assistance, to prepare for emergencies and take an active role in planning safety measures. Don’t assume that others are aware of your best interests. Read about your rights. Learn about your options. Advocate for the accommodations that suit your circumstances. Involve your building owners or managers, or consult your local fire department. Inform family members, office or building managers and neighbours of your fire-safety plan and be sure to practice it with them.

Start today! Taking the time to develop these fire-safety skills now can make all the difference in the face of a real emergency.

Nicole Cormier is a business development specialist at Business Takes Action (BTA), a Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters program, funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services (www.businesstakesaction.ca). BTA helps organizations prepare to meet accessibility standards to be legislated in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).