Disabilty Issues - from ABC News, Chicago
March 14, 2002 — Ever since September 11 safety and evacuation procedures have been a priority for building owners and managers across the country.
Prior to September 11 many existing evacuation plans did not address the needs of tenants with disabilities. Even though things are changing, there are still many unanswered questions to what is the best evacuation system for hte mobility impaired
Finding the appropriate evacuation plan for people with disabilities requires input from various experts. The most important thing to remember is that should always be a group effort. A month after the September 11 tragedy the National Easter Seal Society developed an evacuation program called "safety first."
"A simple program with tips that everybody needs to pay attention too,"
Along with the safety tips is a videotape that demonstrates how to transfer a person in a wheelchair into a evacuation chair and carry them down stairs. Jim Williams is president of the National Easter Seal Society. He says while they were developing procedures for emergency evacuation of people with disabilities they tested the system in house.
"It made a lot of sense, and, you know, if you think about it, there are people who complain that this may cost too much or this may divert our attention," said Wlliams. This is a good first step, but it was not enough, because the question of who is responsible for implementing these procedures remains unanswered.
Laurie Dittman, a representative from the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, says they have been working with different disability organizations to come up with a universal plan.
"The main goals of our evacuation committees is to address those needs, identifying all the needs that people might need and a log dealing with those issues of who responsibility is it to provide," she said.
The deadline for building owners to submit their evacuation plans was the end of February. Within the next couple of months questions should be answered and a standard plan should be in place.
"We've always continued to encourage people to work with the fire department no matter where they live in the city," said Dittman.
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