Dave Nicholson
A/Director,
Community Safety
Metropolitan Fire & Emergency Services Board
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
(Note: The Metropolitan Fire & Emergency Services Board is a totally full-time fire service of 1,400 firefighters, operating from 46 fire stations and serving a population of approximately 2.5 million.)
In Australia at the moment, using elevators to evacuate people with disabilities is currently being debated. A report has been commissioned by the Building Code Regulators limiting the scope of the report to sprinkler-protected office buildings.
Much has been written about firefighters` using elevators for access, but their use for evacuation has received less attention. All elevators within Australia are signed “not to be used in the event of fire.”
In a sprinklered building, the need to evacuate large numbers of people should be minimal. Smoke and water can affect the use of elevators, but the impact can potentially be overcome through design processes. The management of people is more difficult, and the following issues need to be addressed:
If the use of the elevators is restricted to disabled persons, it may cause confusion among all evacuees.
If elevators are used as a component of a building evacuation system on a case-by-case basis, it will complicate a standard public safety message.
At what point before the arrival of the fire service is the use of elevators determined to be unsafe, and by whom?
How are disabled persons (wheelchair occupants, hearing- and sight-impaired, or those suffering a physiological impairment) evacuated safely from high-rise buildings and without discrimination? I would be most interested in comments and opinions.
