| OHCC LIVING | SEPTEMBER 2019 | 5
Although this article is primarily for OHCC residents who are
currently disabled, the reality is that most of us will, at some time
during our lives, have a disability — either temporary or permanent
— that limits our ability to move around inside our home (especially
if it's multi-story) and may require modification or augmentation to
our existing plan for evacuation in an emergency. The difficulties
encountered with the different categories of disability (mobility;
blind or low vision; deaf or hard of hearing; speech; cognitive)
add many and varied challenges. To help us in the development
of a flexible and comprehensive "emergency evacuation plan" the
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has published an
"Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide for People with Disabilities."
This guide is available to everyone in a free, downloadable format
from the NFPA website, http://www.Nfpa.Org/disabilities.
There are four elements of evacuation information that we all
need. This information is important not only when we are at home
but also when staying in unfamiliar locations such as a friend's home
or during travel at a hotel, on a cruise ship, etc.
• Notification (what is the emergency?)
• Way finding (where is the way out?)
• Use of the way (can I get out by myself or do I need help?)
Self
Self with device
Self with assistance
• Assistance
Who
What
Where
When
How
Emergency Evacuation Planning
for People with Disabilities
