Fire Procedures for Persons with Physical Disabilities

Living arrangements will be made on the ground level when the incoming student provides timely and necessary information on their housing questionnaire.

Residents who are identified as having a physical disability will be asked, in a private setting, whether he/she desires help in arranging for any needed assistance in evacuation. This includes persons who acquire a temporary disability. If the student declines assistance, documentation should be provided and the student must verify that he/she has made arrangements on his/her own. If the resident requests assistance, the Community Advisor (CA) will solicit volunteers beginning with roommates, then suitemates, and then occupants in the nearest adjoining rooms. Carrying an individual downstairs requires training and a great deal of caution and care. It should not be attempted when the stairs are occupied by residents evacuating the building. Wait for a clearing to carry an individual down the stairs. Landings in the fire stairwells are used as an "area of safe refuge" for individuals who utilize wheelchairs or any other person who, for any reason, is unable to descend and leave the building. Individuals utilizing wheelchairs may evacuate in their chair from the hall to the landing, where they may await evacuation assistance from fire and rescue or other persons providing assistance, provided egress by others is not impeded.

In the event of an evacuation, the Resident Director (RD) on call will check to ensure that residents known to have a physical disability are safely evacuated, provided the RD is not endangering him/herself to accomplish the check.