‘DDA-compliant' is a phrase often bandied about, but what does it really mean in terms of facilities and procedures for the evacuation of disabled people? Alison Cousins examines the relevant standards.

The introduction of the disability discrimination act made it the responsibility of managers of almost all premises nationwide to ensure that access to buildings and services provided are available to everyone – and that there is no discrimination. 

Having made it possible for people of all abilities to gain access to a building, other matters need to be considered. There are the obvious ones, such as access to upper levels, toilet facilities and counter heights, but what about safety and the need to evacuate in the event of, say, a fire?

During such an emergency where there is a need to evacuate a building, thought must be given to those who cannot simply walk down the stairs. The use of lifts during an emergency is, at best, restricted but more often than not prevented, which leaves the problem of evacuating those who are physically unable to walk unaided.

In some circumstances the able bodied could assist those in wheelchairs (or with walking difficulties) by carrying (or supporting) them downstairs – either in or out of a wheelchair. However, this has further implications for the safety of all concerned particularly on narrower stairways, since such an action is likely to restrict escape by others. There is also a clear risk of injury to those doing the carrying and to the person being carried. People are not necessarily going to remain calm during the evacuation of a building and a slow moving group on a stairwell could easily cause a bottleneck. In times of even mild panic this has the potential to cause great distress to all concerned.

Temporary refuge
A solution to the problem comes in the form of temporary areas of safety for the disabled, where the person with the disability may be helped to the area and then await assistance. These spaces are referred to as ‘refuge areas'.

A refuge area must meet certain safety criteria – these are covered in the British Standard BS 5588 part 8 (Fire Precautions in the Design, Construction and Use of Buildings – Code of practice for the means of escape for disabled people). This standard applies to "all buildings except single family dwelling houses, flats and maisonettes and buildings used as a house in multiple occupation". The standard also includes guidance for people with hearing and sight difficulties. As well as covering the provisions for refuge areas, it details the processes and procedures that need to be in place to manage the evacuation of disabled people. BS 5588 part 8 is not applicable to buildings purpose built for the disabled, such as healthcare premises, which are covered by other government guidelines.

The standard specifies that a refuge area must be of a fire resisting construction and served directly by a safe route to a storey exit, evacuation lift or final exit. The minimum size specified for a refuge area is 0.9m x 1.4m to allow sufficient room for a wheelchair to manoeuvre. It is recommended that there is more than one refuge area per storey, or that one larger area is divided into two separate fire resisting compartments. This would enable movement from one refuge area to another, should it become necessary to vacate the first area occupied.

The standard gives examples of satisfactory refuge areas such as a compartment, protected lobby, protected corridor or protected stairway – provided the wheelchair space does not reduce the width or restrict the escape route for others. An alternative would be an area in the open air, such as a flat roof, balcony or similar place, which is sufficiently protected (or remote) from any fire risk and has its own means of escape.

Communications
After providing suitable spaces for refuge areas the issue of communication must now be resolved – as specified in BS 5588 part 8.  The occupant of each refuge area must be able to communicate independently with fire officers or building management until a rescue.  Additionally, the two-way communication system must be readily operated by, and comprehensible to, disabled people.

Communication between the refuge area and building management is covered by another British Standard – BS 5839 part 9 (Fire Detection and Fire Alarm Systems for Buildings – Code of practice for emergency voice communication systems). This standard gives clear guidelines and covers details such as the mounting heights for refuge area communication points, or ‘outstations'. 

The standard details everything from the intended uses of an emergency voice communication (EVC) system and the style of the outstations, to the fact that the system must be fully monitored and battery backed. EVC systems, as with Voice Alarm (VA) systems, must always be available during an emergency. Therefore, as detailed in BS 5839, the system must not fail even if a disruption occurs to the power supply or a break in the cable run is created during an emergency. 

In action
An example of a recently installed communication system for disabled refuges is at the London South Bank University. The OmniCare Advance system was specially networked across 12 buildings and covers over 200 refuge points. Each has its own local control panel and there is also a single point master unit for site wide control, allowing fire officers or building management to communicate with any refuge area. One of the key features of the system is that being linked to the building's fire panel, it remains ‘dormant' until needed in an emergency, avoiding misuse by occupiers – in this case some 20,000 students!

The system is wired on a loop as opposed to ‘star wired', resulting in a considerable saving in wiring costs. The intelligence of the system ensures that if the circuit were to be broken at any point in the loop, it will still operate without loss of communication. Features include Braille script, raised and luminescent text with an in-built induction loop on each remote unit. 

Alison Cousins is marketing manager at Baldwin Boxall. The company's Care range of EVC systems are fully compliant to both BS 5839 part 9 and BS 5588 part 8. The OmniCare system can link disabled refuge remotes, fire telephones and disabled toilet alarms to one master control panel.