Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Planning for Evacuation

  • By Mark Roberts
  • 05/01/18

When it comes to evacuating facilities in the event of an emergency we need to be prepared for any eventuality in order to get everyone out safely. That is why emergency evacuation plans are vital. Extra precautions and considerations need to be taken in order to accommodate the individual needs of students, staff, and visitors with physical or sensory disabilities, and those who may lack understanding of a situation or the ability to act quickly.

Identifying and preventing risk is a crucial part of emergency planning and should never allow leaving anyone behind because they are differently abled. Pre-planning for an emergency is imperative. Campuses must have the capacity to move all persons with disabilities to a safe location immediately in any emergency.

Points to consider when planning:

  • Clearly visible evacuation procedures
  • Consider mobility-impaired and persons with sight/hearing impairment
  • Staff training in use of assistive equipment and procedures
  • Regular reviews, especially if the building has in any way been modified
  • Visitors will often be unfamiliar with the layout of your premises
  • Visitors share their needs upon entry

Develop a plan to necessitate provisions and share the information with all people concerned. Campus administration has a moral, ethical, and legal responsibility to keep their whole community safe in the event of an emergency.

Evacuation chairs provide a universal evacuation solution for smooth stairway descent during an emergency. Evacuation sleds are designed to help evacuate non-ambulant people or people who may not be able to walk down stairs in an emergency.

More information is available at webcpm.com.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management May 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

Mark Roberts is vice president of Evac+Chair North America. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • New Jersey Day School Opens New Science & Entrepreneurship Building

    Saddle River Day School (SRDS) in Saddle River, N.J., recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Dr. Kristen Walsh Hall of Science & Entrepreneurship, according to a news release. The school partnered with DIG Architecture on the 32,000 square foot facility, completed on a 17-month construction timeline in time for the beginning of the new school year.

  • Minnesota District Completes Renovations to 3 Schools

    South Washington County Schools in Woodbury, Minn., recently completed major renovation projects to three of its schools, according to a news release. The district partnered with Kraus-Anderson for construction services, and the upgrades were part of a larger referendum that voters approved in fall 2024.

  • Amazon Expands Lockers to More Than 500 College, University Campuses

    Amazon recently announced that its Locker Network now totals more than 750 locations at more than 500 college and university campuses around the United States, according to a company news release.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.