Emergency Evacuation, a Critical Element of Inclusion
When considering the accessibility of your program, what comes to mind?
Equal participation in an event? The ability to enter, or use the space within,
a building? An important, perhaps overlooked, part of access is an equal or
equivalent ability to evacuate a building during an emergency. Having a
proactive strategy for safely evacuating all members, including members
with disabilities, is an important component in the inclusive culture of your
program.
Some questions to consider:
 Do you have an emergency plan in place to safely evacuate all
members in case of fire, hurricane, or other emergency? If so, when
was the last time the plan was updated and emergency equipment
tested?
 Does your organization have a policy in place where members can
confidentially request a personal support plan for safe evacuation?
 Have all your members been trained on what to do in an emergency?
Evacuation Planning
According to the National Fire Protection Association
(http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/pdf/forms/evacuationguide.pdf), there are
four pieces that everyone can use as part of their evacuation planning:
1. Notification (what is the emergency?)
When there is an emergency, how will you let everyone know? Should
members expect an intercom message or tones? Is there more than one
notification style, such as strobe lights and an audio announcement, so
people with different abilities are still able to perceive the emergency?
2. Evacuation instructions (where is the way out?)
Are there signs clearly marking exits? Are their designated people within
your program who take the lead in evacuating members and speaking to the
fire department?
3. Evaluation (can I get out by myself, or do I need help?)
Is there a personal evaluation tool members can use to assess their ability to
safely evacuate?
4. Assistance (if I do need help, what kind of assistance might I need?)
Would members evacuate with an assistive device? With assistance from
someone else?
The National Service Inclusion Project is part of a committee that trains and
assists everyone at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) on
emergency evacuation. As part of the committee’s evacuation materials, an
example of both the Ability Self-Assessment and Emergency Assistance
Checklist is available on our website through the following link:
www.serviceandinclusion.org/index.php?page=iw#evac.
If you do not have, or would like to revise, an emergency evacuation plan,
the Job Accommodation Network has resources to help get you started.
These resources include:
-A checklist to help build an evacuation plan:
http://askjan.org/media/evacchecklist.html
-Steps for including people who need different kinds of accommodations in
an emergency: http://askjan.org/media/emergency.html
If you have questions regarding making your emergency evacuation plans
accessible, please feel free to e-mail NSIP at nsip@umb.edu.
Yours in service,
Chad
The National Service Inclusion Project (NSIP) is a training and technical
assistance provider on disability inclusion, under a cooperative agreement
(#08TAHMA001) from Corporation for National and Community Service
(CNCS). NSIP partners with the Association on University Centers on
Disability, National Council on Independent Living, Association on Higher
Education and Disability and National Down Syndrome Congress to build
connections between disability organizations and all CNCS grantees,
including national directs, to increase the participation of people with
disabilities in national service.