AIBU to question a workplace evacuation plan for disabled colleagues?

[Bivevive]

Hi,

Just started a new job and it’s great!

However, one thing that has made me uneasy is the fire evacuation/emergency plan we’ve all been made to review.

It says that in an emergency, “employees in the building” are to assist clients or colleagues with limited physical mobility out of the building. This would include stairs, if on the second floor. It literally has a page titled “Responsibility and plan for evacuating individuals who have limited mobility” and then just says “all employees.”

There is no special equipment. No further guidance has been offered. Absolutely no training.

AIBU to have an issue with this and think it’s far too vague and putting too much responsibility/expectation on the able bodied employee being a) strong enough to assist and b) having enough knowledge of how to safely assist? It seems concerning from both an injury perspective to the able bodied person if they are required to lift, as well as sheer disregard to the disabled individual as their “exit plan” in an emergency is being left to untrained, random employees.

I don’t know if I’m being unreasonable or overreacting.

Take me for example: I’m 5”2 and a very small person! If there was a fire and someone was disabled with low mobility, I’d be absolutely no use for physical assistance, and would potentially injure myself if I tried to assist.

I suppose I’d expect at minimum a “shelter in place” point that is pre-agreed, so at least emergency services will know where the individual with low mobility will be waiting. Or some set guidance that everyone can follow. Having a vague “employees will assist” plan seems to suggest that provisions for clients with low mobility will be made up on the spot, and in a real emergency could easily put more people at risk.

Again, a fire etc., is unlikely. But emergencies do happen and I’m wondering if it’s something I should address.

Thank you!

I think it needs to be tailored to the individual person. In my old workplace we had a wheelchair user who didn't like the evac chair. Instead, three larger colleagues (one extra for holiday cover) were designated to carry him down in his own chair, after waiting in the stairwell for the main crowds to thin out. They were well-rehearsed in this and it worked pretty well whenever there was a fire drill.

It all changed after the Grenfell fire
Before this the advice was to leave people as safely as you could
Now everywhere has to have a fire plan .

Are there any people working with you that you would need to worry about?

Someone in my building 4 floors up in a mobility scooter who must weigh 30 stones. Sorry if the building is on fire I’m leaving her behind 🤷🏻‍♀️. My priority is my safety. I can’t help her she must be 3x my weight. I’ve never seen an evac chair but even if there was one I’m not using it.

afaik the advice is they are to wait by the lift, there’s a button to press on the wall where they can talk to someone to inform them they’re waiting.

Note that the refuge areas mentioned in a couple of posts are not for individuals to be left waiting for the fire brigade.

There is no legal obligation for individual firefighters to go looking for people to evacuate - they do, but can die doing so, even worse when they are looking for an individual who isn’t there

The legal obligation is with the responsible party - employer, building management etc and the refuge is to help gain time for the proper evacuation plan to be put into effect

A refuge may or may not exist depending on building design & age
Evacuation chairs should be provided in relation to stairwells and numbers of people

It can be reasonable to have “everyone” with a responsibility, but not for a PEEP.
Anyone who is going to use an evacuation chair (including who will be evacuated) must be trained in its use

When I started school in the early 00s (new build) the instructions for my classmate who used a wheel chair was to 'shelter in place' in the stairwells, which were all behind a fire door, and wait for there for the fire bridge. We were told the fire doors would keep back flames for at least 60minutes. I'm not sure how the fire brigade knows how to locate the person though

For a public building, wouldn't they have a plan of the building showing where the refuges are? And the person in charge of the evacuation should know where everyone is or should be.