CJ Walsh is an architect, fire engineer and technical inspector of the fire safety aspects of buildings. He knows more than most people about how building design can help or hinder people leaving a burning building. Every building he enters, he can’t help but scan the position of ramps, fire alarms, the space given for people to congregate and the designated “place of safety” people should go to when evacuating a building.

Walsh is one of the main organisers of an international conference, Fire Safety for All, in Dublin this week.

The very concept, fire safety for all, is so new that he had to ask Google to add it as a search term. Another term many of us aren’t familiar with is people with “activity limitations”.

As well as wheelchair users, this term includes frail older people, children under five, women in the late stages of pregnancy, people with physical and intellectual disabilities and anyone with a health condition that limits their mobility. These individuals are often not considered enough in building design and fire-safety drills, according to Walsh.

“Fire safety guidelines for people with activity limitations in buildings – if they exist at all – are inadequate and/or tokenistic and rarely implemented,” says Walsh. One of the principal flaws in many fire-drill procedures, according to Walsh, is that space is allocated for only one wheelchair user during evacuation. “If people just focus on getting the greatest numbers out in the shortest time, vulnerable people will be left behind,” says Walsh.

People in wheelchairs

He also says that firefighters are often not trained sufficiently in how to deal with people in wheelchairs. “When firefighters go into a building on fire and see a wheelchair user stuck in an inaccessible place, they might throw the person over their shoulder without thinking whether they could do more harm if that person has other health concerns.”

Canadian wheelchair user Marnie Peters will tell delegates about the awareness raising and training she has carried out with firefighters in Canada. About 300 delegates are expected to attend the conference from Hong Kong, Canada and several European countries.

Another issue is fire doors that have such strong closing force that they are too difficult for some people to open when leaving a building in an emergency. “Fire-prevention officers are not generally aware of disability issues. Their only concern is to make the building fireproof,” says Walsh. This lack of joined-up thinking in building specifications for fire safety and disability access will also be addressed at the conference.

Walsh also raises questions about the use of rescue chairs in emergency situations. These lightweight chairs (also known as Evac chairs) slide down the banisters of stairs, but what happens to the person when they are brought out of the building without their personalised wheelchair? Walsh says that one solution would be to have limited use of lifts for vulnerable people in certain emergency situations.

At the conference, a new universal sign language of 10 sign words will be launched to communicate urgent safety procedures to deaf people when a fire breaks out.

“Fire safety and emergency experts have been worried for some time that there is no easy way to communicate urgently in emergencies with people who have difficulties hearing alarms. We need a way to tell them to get out of a burning building,” says Walsh. Adding a slow flashing light to the (sound-based) fire alarm is one simple yet often neglected aid.

A so-called “Dublin Declaration” will also be launched at the conference calling for successful implementation of Fire Safety for All in buildings.

The nine principles to achieve this goal include a robust legal base mandating accessibility for all and fire safety for all, training in accessibility, fire-safety design and fire-safety skills for all relevant personnel, and design for safe evacuation with intuitive way-finding.

Delaying behaviours

Walsh says that many people use delaying behaviours when they hear a fire alarm. “When the World Trade Center towers were struck in 9/11, many people didn’t move quickly. They collected their personal belongings, closed down their computers properly, changed their shoes, looked for family members or friends, and some even waited for permission to leave the building,” says Walsh, three of whose relatives worked in the World Trade Center building at the time. Only one was working on the day, and was evacuated safely.

As people often delay leaving, emergency messages need to be communicated across several media.

“A sounder, a strobe light, a live voice message over an intercom and clear screen instructions that over-ride any work they are doing on their computers are just some of the ways to communicate with people in an emergency,” says Walsh.

Fire Safety for All is on Thursday and Friday, April 9th and 10th, in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Golden Lane, Dublin 8. It is held in co-operation with the International Council for Research & Innovation in Building & Construction, Rehabilitation International's International Commission on Technology & Accessibility, the Global Alliance for Accessible Technologies & Environments, and the European Concept for Accessible Network. See fire-safety-for-all.ie or email fireox@sustainable-design.ie