- Author
- United States Fire Administration
- Title
- Fire Risks for the Mobility Impaired.
- Coporate
- U.S. Fire Administration, Washington, DC
- Distribution
- AVAILABLE FROM: U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), 16825 South Seton Ave., Emmitsburg, MD 21727. Telephone: 301-447-1000. Website: http://www.usfa.fema.gov
- Keywords
- handicaped | fire risks | fire safety | fire departments
- Identifiers
- tips for fire service professionals
- Abstract
- In 1990, the United States Congress passed the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which extended civil rights protection to individuals with disabilities. Title III of the ADA is most applicable to fire safety, as it prohibits discrimination of disabled persons in places of public accommodation. The proprietors of such businesses are responsible for making their establishments more physically accessible to people with disabilities. The ADA requires the installation of emergency alarms in public places that serve both hearing and non-hearing patrons, the installation of entrance and exit ramps, as well as the widening of doorways to accommodate wheelchairs. Although Title III greatly improves provisions for the disabled, it does not specifically address fire and disaster evacuation needs in either public buildings or private homes. According to the accessibility guidelines for all new construction, each floor in a public building without a supervised automatic sprinkler system must contain an urea rescue assistance (i.e., an area with direct access to an exit stairway where people unable to use stairs may await assistance during an emergency evacuation). This standard concedes the fact that some people with mobility impairments may not be able to exit a building in the same manner by which they entered. People with mobility impairments are limited by time and physical means for mobility when it comes to escaping a fire emergency. As a result of their inherent limitations, mobility-impaired individuals must be particularly diligent when cultivating a fire escape plan in both public and private places. This plan may be as simple as living dn the ground floor of one's home. Few data are available on the actual number of fire deaths and injuries among people with disabilities. This is true primarily because of lack of reporting and reporting mechanisms. Neither of the two national sources for fire death data--the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)--indicate whether the deceased was disabled. Although the U.S. Fire Administration's NFIRS specifically provides a forum for both civilian fire death and fire injury data to be collected, analyzed, and interpreted, it does not contain an entry for the presence of physical or mental disabilities. This civilian casualty report does contain a segment that describes theoretical reasons as to why an individual did not escape the fire. In the entry entitied condition preventing escape, the reporting fire service representative may postulate as to whether a physical impediment prohibited the victim's escape, whether the victim "moved too slowly," or whether the victim was "incapacitated." Although these last two descriptions may technically cover a wide range of disabilities, they also cover a victim under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Any available fire death and injury data regarding individuals with physical disabilities must be viewed under this caveat. The numbers of fire-related deaths and injuries sustained by the disabled are no doubt underreported and underemphasized in public fire education and fire prevention efforts. This report focuses on disabilities that impair or alter the mobility of an individual in a fire emergency. It is directed to those people who depend on artificial means for moving about, including wheelchairs, walkers, and assisted-walking devices. The report is divided into three principal sections. The first section defines the term disability and discusses the impact of disabilities. Also discussed are the current and projected population estimates of people with mobility impairments. The second section of this report focuses on the characteristics of people with mobility impairments that place them at risk for injuries, especially fire injuries. The final section provides tips to fire service professionals for enhancing fire safety for people with disabilities. A reproduction-ready appendix presents fire safety tips. Fire service professionals may photocopy the appendix for use in public education activities.