Thanks for posting this, Caroline.  We were also attending this webinar and feel that we are still none the wiser!  We usually don't get involved in fire evac procedures but we do have a school asking us to fund a stairclimber as the child isn't able to use a regular evac chair.  We feel that this may not be a good solution either as they can be big to store and slow to operate, and may not be on the required floor if/when the fire breaks out.  There is potential we could then be asked to fund one for each floor and there are other costs associated, such as training and servicing... (just to clarify, we usually fund specialist equipment over and above that which schools are expected to provide, but this is usually seating etc; not evacuation equipment, however, very occasionally we have done this where there is literally no other way, due to the child's needs).  The school is currently not allowing the child to be educated above the ground floor, as they tell us their local fire officer has told them that a place of safety cannot be relied on.  The fire safety experts on the course just seemed to say it was up to all parties to get together and agree a solution.  I would also be interested to hear how other schools/LAs deal with this, when a child cannot use regular evac chairs...I think maybe getting a written report from the fire officer would help, plus clear guidance from the physio/OT as to what other means of escape could be explored?

We have 16 children in wheelchairs in school and have set up holding bays on each floor that the fire brigade have visited and agreed are suitable. We have an intercom system from the holding bay to the fire alarm switch board and each child has a moving and handing and PEEPS plan. Non of our children would be able to use an evac chair and we therefore have fire sling sledges to be used in the case of absolute emergency. i.e. if the fire was actually in that wing of the school. All staff are trained to use them by our moving and handling facilitator who receives yearly training from the William Merritt Disabled living Centre in Leeds. The physiotherapist for each child is also aware of the plan and adds in any additional information required.

thanks, Jane - that is really helpful

Hi Caroline

Similar to what others have posted, we were told by our local fire chief that the setting needs to have a plan to evacuate a disabled person safely in the event of a fire / other emergency, i.e. it is inadequate to plan for the child to stay in a fire safe area and wait for the fire brigade to rescue them. This information is in the government document 'Fire safety - means of escape for disabled people'. I don't know why this hasn't been updated over the last 16 years but it hasn't and is still the legal document to follow.

We spoke to the fire chief after schools had received conflicting advice from fire safety advisors and so wanted to get the definitive information.

There are a variety of different evac-chairs out there; generally the cheaper they are, the less useful they are with severely disabled pupils (not enough support / need to be carried rather than run on a track). To cover all bases we tend to recommend the Exitmaster Elite chair (or similar), which costs approx. £1100.

The other issue with severe disability is transferring from the wheelchair into an evac-chair (and vice-versa). Unless the use of a slide board is appropriate, the pupil will need to be hoisted across. As the provision of a portable hoist on or near every landing is unreasonable, the usual way of hoisting involves 2-4 people lifting the pupil across using the straps on their in-chair sling. In some cases, if the pupil is light enough, the most efficient method may be for them to be carried all the way down the stairs using their in-chair sling.

If a pupil is unable to tolerate any form of evac-chair and is too heavy / awkward to carry down the stairs in an in-chair sling, the use of a 'ski pad' / evacuation sledge may be recommended.

In the last two examples and if using a cheap evac-chair, consideration will need to be made when planning regarding where the pupil will be placed once off the stairs. In some cases, it may be that a manual wheelchair is stored on the ground floor and made available for them to be placed in and then taken out of the building (we have loaned wheelchairs for this purpose). An example of a different approach was the use of a large beanbag for the pupil to be placed in outside the building. Once the emergency is over, the powered wheelchair can be brought downstairs or the pupil transported back up in the lift to return to their powered wheelchair