Our Evacuation Chairs Are Valuable Tools in an Emergency
There are many ways for you to prepare for an emergency at home. You should have a functioning fire extinguisher, fire blankets, carbon monoxide detector, smoke detector, and a first aid kit. You should teach members of your household how to use these tools and you should also prepare a family emergency communications plan.
While these steps are important, it’s also advisable to have an escape plan. If you live in a condominium, apartment, or a house with a staircase, an escape plan can improve your chances of evacuating the building safely. Such a plan can be crucial for the safety of Persons with Reduced Mobility, who need support during an evacuation.
At Evacuscape, we’re passionate about providing a safe and reliable option to evacuate buildings or homes in emergencies. Our evacuation chairs are valuable tools that can help Persons with Reduced Mobility escape an unsafe situation in their building.
We created the Evacuscape chair because we recognize that the elderly, people with certain medical conditions, pregnant women, the visually impaired, and people with temporary injuries face mobility issues in emergencies. Such people who rely on accessibility features to enter and exit their building may find that these options are unavailable in a crisis where time is of the essence.
For example, in a fire, it’s not safe to use an elevator. In an emergency, the elevator may shut down, leaving the occupants stuck inside awaiting rescue. Likewise, activation switches and push door buttons that help Persons with Reduced Mobility can also be rendered nonoperational during an emergency. Fire doors could also close.
Persons with Reduced Mobility who rely on crutches may find it difficult to move with crowds rushing around them. Those with less visible conditions such as breathing issues or heart problems could have trouble descending stairs on their own during an evacuation. And differently abled people simply cannot be evacuated downstairs in their wheelchairs.
These emergency evacuation facts make for a sobering read, especially if you believe that every person has a right to safety. Studies reveal that differently abled people and those with reduced mobility are at a greater risk of injury or death during a fire. The disabled and the bedridden account for 8% while people over the age of 65 account for 18% of all fire-related deaths. Remember, over 13% of Canadians are the senior citizens, while half of them have some form of disabilities.
Keeping these facts in mind, at Evacuscape we’ve created an easy-to-use solution with our stair chair.
- The Evacuscape chair only requires one person to safely evacuate the evacuee
- It’s light enough to be carried by anyone who is assisting someone with reduced mobility
- Despite its lightweight, it’s strong enough to carry a person of up to 180 kg (400 lbs) safely down the stairs, and can be used by a lightweight person to guide an evacuee heavier than themselves
- The Evacuscape chair is foldable into a compact size and can easily be stored in a convenient and accessible location via the wall-bracket system
- It has rubber tracks to reduce descent speed and won’t propel the evacuee forward
- The Evacuscape chair’s sturdy construction and excellent design allows for increased functionality – it can be used as a transit chair
Not only are Evacuscape chairs safe, reliable, comfortable, and versatile, but they’re easy to operate. Both Evacuscape chair models come with a training DVD that can help anyone learn how to use them quickly and effectively. You can also check these videos on our website to find a demonstration of how the Evacuscape chair works and where it can be used, as well as training videos in English and French.
We offer two evacuation chair models.
#EC1
This chair weighs 12.5 kg (27.5lbs) and supports a weight of up to 180 kg (400 lbs). It’s equipped with an emergency under seat light, speed-reducing V belt track, lap safety belt and head restraint strap, solid padded seat and backrest and locking rear wheel castors. It’s also shipped with a protective cover, wall bracket, and training DVD. It comes with a 10-year warranty for the frame and a one-year warranty for all the wheels, tracks, and braking components.
#EC2
This model is slightly heavier but still lightweight at 14.5kg (32lbs). It includes all the features of the EC1, as well as a detachable front carry handle, a fail-safe braking system, and a five-point harness and head restraint strap.
Compare our chairs to products from our competitors, which are heavier, more expensive, and may lack features such as the emergency under seat light, foldable front carry handle, five-point harness, and our patented track braking system. Not only do we offer more features, but we offer better value. You can easily learn about our chairs by visiting our website or connecting with us on our Facebook page for more information.
We’re a Canadian owned and operated business serving a variety of international clients. Our offices serve customers in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Our buyers include organizations such as Transport Canada, The Department of National Defence, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Ministry of Education in Ontario, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Speciality Care, the Canadian Museum of History, St. Clair College, Texas A&M University, and more.
Although evacuation chairs have been around for 30 years, they’re gaining popularity because of the increasing importance of accessibility. For example, the state of California amended its health and Safety code in late 2018, making evacuation chairs mandatory in multi-story assisted living homes. The rest of the world is quickly catching up.
Businesses in Canada are adopting stair chairs like ours to honour Part II of Section 125 of the Canada Labour Code. It encourages employers to improve fire safety and emergency measures for employees, to “prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with or occurring in the course of employment”.
Likewise, in the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 2010 outlines stricter safety guidelines for people with disabilities.
Whether you’re an individual or a business, you need the Evacuscape chair in emergencies. You can get in touch with us by sending us a message on our website or by phoning, faxing, or emailing us.
