Abilities/Preparedness
|
|
Yes |
No |
Do you know the
location of all fire alarms and extinguishers? |
|
Yes |
No |
|
|
Yes |
No |
Can you operate
a fire extinguisher? |
|
Yes |
No |
·
Have you practiced? |
|
Yes |
No |
Do you know the
location of ALL exits? |
|
Yes |
No |
·
Have you evaluated
your ability to use them? |
|
Yes |
No |
Have you determined how you may be
of assistance to others in an emergency? (i.e. guiding people to and
through darkened spaces and exits if you have no or low vision,
offering calming and emotional support, etc.) |
|
Yes |
No
|
Have you anticipated how you will
function if your service animal becomes confused, panicked,
frightened or disoriented? A harness leash, pad protectors (for hot
asphalt, hot metal stairs, broken glass) are important items for
managing a nervous or upset animal. Be prepared to use alternative
ways to negotiate your environment (i.e. sighted guides, members of
your personal support network who can offer emotional support). |
|
Yes |
No |
·
Do you keep critical
carry-with-you supplies: |
|
Yes |
No |
·
Essential medication? |
|
Yes |
No |
·
Small flashlight? |
|
Yes |
No |
·
Fully charged portable
devices and extra batteries) such as a cell phone. Many people used
cell phones and two-way pagers on 9/11/01 to alert authorities or to call loved ones. |
|
Yes |
No |
·
Paper and pencil? |
|
Yes |
No |
·
Customized,
pre-printed message? |
|
Yes |
No |
·
Emergency Health
Information? It should communicate to rescuers what they need to
know if they find you unconscious or incoherent or if they need to
quickly help evacuate you (list of current medications, allergies,
special equipment, names, addresses, and telephone numbers of
doctors, pharmacies, family members, friends, and any other
important information). |
Evacuating a Site After Usual
Business Hours
|
|
Yes
|
No |
Determine
your risks regarding being in the building after usual working hours
when there are fewer people to provide emergency assistance?
·
Is there a way you can
make your presence known to others including personnel in the
security or emergency control center, when in the building after
hours?
·
Do you know how to
reach emergency personnel in case on an emergency?
|
Sight
|
|
Yes
|
No |
Will you be
able to evacuate independently without relying on the usual auditory
cues (such as the hum of the copy machine near the stairs)? (These
cues will be absent, if the electricity goes off or alarms are
blaring). |
Yes
|
No |
Can you read
the emergency signage in print or Braille? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Are there
raised and Braille characters on signs that designate exits,
direction to exits, information on exit routes, and floors
designated by numbers or letters, including floor level designations
provided in stairwells? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Is there
emergency lighting along the escape route that will automatically
light, if electrical service is interrupted? |
|
Yes
|
No |
|
|
Yes
|
No |
Can you use the
two-way communication devices installed in the elevators and areas
of refuge/ rescue assistance? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Have you
instructed your personal support network how to act as a “sighted
guide” if needed? |
Hearing
|
|
Yes
|
No |
|
|
Yes
|
No |
|
|
Yes
|
No |
·
Have you practiced using them in a non-emergency to make sure the
system works? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Do you know the
locations of text telephones or phones that have amplification? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Do emergency
alarm systems have audible and visible features (visual strobes)? |
|
Yes
|
No |
If you are hard
of hearing will you be able to hear over the sound of very loud
emergency alarms? How will you understand emergency information and
directions that are typically given verbally? (Hearing aids amplify
background noise, so the sound of the alarms may interfere or drown
out voice announcements). Instruct your support network to speak
looking at you and to repeat critical announcements. |
|
Yes
|
No |
Will your
hearing aids work if they get wet, for example from sprinklers? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Are the newer
displays (television monitors or scrolling text signs) available
throughout your site? Will they work if the power goes out? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
Do you know all their
locations? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Are portable
devices (tactile/vibrating pagers) available for you to use? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Do you keep
with you a small flashlight handy to aid in seeing visual cues
during an emergency? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Have you
determined how you will communicate with colleagues and emergency
personnel if there is no interpreter or if your hearing aid(s) are
not working? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
Do you carry with you
paper and pens? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
Do you carry a
pre-printed copy of key phrase messages with you such as "I use
American Sign Language (ASL)," "I do not write or read English
well." "If you make announcements, I will need to have them written
simply or signed." |
Deaf‑Blind
|
|
Yes
|
No |
Do you have a
personal support network? Since the usual alarms or flashing lights
won't work, it is critical that you have a large personal support
network |
Speech
|
|
Yes
|
No |
Have you
determined how you will communicate with colleagues and emergency
personnel, if you do not have your usual communication devices
(augmentative communication device, word board, artificial larynx)? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Do you store
copies of a word or letter board, paper and writing materials,
pre-printed messages and key phrases specific to an anticipated
emergency, in your wallet, backpack or purse? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Does your
Emergency Health Information Card explain the best method to
communicate with you (written notes, pointing to
letters/words/pictures)? |
Memory, Judgment, Learning And
Related Information Processing
|
|
Yes
|
No |
Have you
practiced how to communicate your needs? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Have you
anticipated the types of reactions you may have in an emergency and
planned strategies for coping with these reactions? (There are a
number of reactions that may occur or become more intense during an
emergency. Such reactions include: confusion, thought processing and
memory difficulties, agitation, paranoia, crying, fear, panic,
anxiety, and shaking. Think through the types of reactions you may
anticipate and plan strategies for coping with these reactions.
Prepare your personal support network to assist you with these
planned strategies). |
|
Yes
|
No |
Does your
Emergency Health Information explain the best method to assist you? |
Assistive Device Users
|
|
Yes
|
No |
What will it
take to get your wheelchair or other important assistive devices out
of the building? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Have you
informed your personal support network how to operate and safely
move your equipment if necessary? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Have you
labeled equipment, added simple instruction cards (laminate
instruction cards for added durability) and attached them to
equipment regarding how to operate and safely move? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Do you keep a
copy of these instructions with you and have you shared copies with
your personal support network? |
|
Yes
|
No |
If you are a
manual wheelchair user, do you carry heavy gloves with you to
protect hands from debris while pushing? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Have you
thought through all your options if you are not able to be evacuated
in your chair or other assistive device? |
|
Physical /
Mobility |
|
Yes
|
No |
Can you operate a fire extinguisher? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
Have you practiced? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
Will extended handles
make them usable for you? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Do you know the
location of all exits and your ability to navigate them?
|
|
Yes
|
No |
Do you know
where all evacuation chairs are stored? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
Have you practiced
using them? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Do you know
where all, if any, rescue areas are located? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Can you reach
and activate an alarm? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Will you be
able to independently evacuate from the site? (What will it take)? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
How long will it
take? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
Will you need someone
to help with your balance and help you to walk down steps more
quickly? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
Would it be faster if
you used an evacuation chair or were carried? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
If you absolutely had
to, could you bump down the stairs on your butt, crawl, etc? Will
you need something to strap on to protect your butt? Gloves to
protect your hands? Etc. |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
Have you tested this
method? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Can you
transfer in and out of evacuation devices independently, or with
assistance? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Can you give
quick instructions regarding how to safely transport you if you need
to be carried? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
Have you included any
areas of vulnerability regarding how to safely remove you from your
chair? |
|
Yes
|
No |
·
If you want to be
lifted in your chair make sure this is realistic (How much does your
chair weigh with you in it)? |
|
Yes
|
No |
Do you know where all the areas of
refuge/rescue assistance are located? (See Areas of Refuge/Rescue
Assistance) |
|
Yes
|
No |
Do you know if your site has
“evacuation elevators” and where they are located? (see Use of
Elevators) |
|
Allergies, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) |
|
Yes
|
No |
Do you carry
supplies with you based on your worse days:
·
Industrial respirator
with gas-mist filters?
·
Gloves?
·
Inhaler?
|
|
Yes
|
No |
Does your
emergency health information clearly explain your sensitivities and
reactions, most helpful treatments, and treatments which are
harmful? Be specific, as other conditions (disorientation, aphasia,
panic) may be diagnosed and treated as something other than chemical
sensitivity and you may not be able to describe your needs verbally. |
|
Excerpted from:
Kailes, June Isaacson.
Evacuation Preparedness: Taking Responsibility For Your Safety: A
Guide For People With Disabilities and Other Activity Limitations,
2002.For
more information this 36 page Guide is available at no cost from
http://www.cdihp.org/products.html#eeguide,
or to order a hard copy, send a check payable to: CDIHP for $24.00
(includes shipping, handling and applicable tax) to CDIHP, 309 E. 2nd
Street, Pomona, CA 91766‑1854. Contact CDIHP for pricing on bulk or
international orders at Phone: (909) 469‑5380, TTY (909) 469-5520,
Fax: (909) 469‑5407, Email:
evac@westernu.edu.
|
