Fire regulations: Do you have a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan for disabled guests?
In
the first of my blogs I posed two questions. I answered the first one
in October. The second was do you always complete a Personal Emergency
Evacuation Plan (PEEP) for every disabled guest that stays with or
visits you? If you are not then you are failing to comply with the fire
regulations. These are detailed in the booklet called – Fire Safety Risk
Assessment, means of escape for disabled people. It costs a couple of
pounds and is well worth the investment.
There is also a
requirement to communicate with all disabled people that there is help
available. Do you have a sign on reception saying this? In the booklet
it says the sign should read, “We create a system of assisted escape for
disabled visitors, please tell our receptionist your requirements. We
will provide a suitable escape plan.”
In the last couple of
months two hotels have burnt down. Hotel fires still happen and if you
and your colleagues don’t have suitable procedures in place then at some
point a disabled person will die unnecessarily.
I am encouraging
members of Disabled Motoring UK to complete their own PEEPs and take
them with them when they go to a conference or stay away from home.
Then they will get the hotel/venue to agree and sign the document so
that both parties will know what to do. This may be staying in the hotel
room, going to a safety or refuge point or using a fire protected lift.
At least the procedures will have been agreed together.
To my
mind there is little point in saying we have the procedures behind the
desk so that if the alarm sounds then staff will know what to do. This
might be OK for the wheelchair user or some partially sighted people as
their impairment is clearly visible. However, what do you do about
people with invisible disabilities, such as a deaf person or someone
with a mental illness? They might not be able to hear the alarm or be
confused by its continual ringing and panic.
The whole process
of creating a PEEP should start at the reservation stage. It makes good
sense in providing great customer service that we ask the appropriate
questions at the start.
I have included an example of a PEEP I
use for hotels but it can be easily adapted to conference venues,
attractions and anyone else. I haven’t included the guidance notes that
go with it as this is part of a commercial course I run. If you would
like to know more please email arnold@avfmarketing.co.uk.
Any comments? Email sarah@mashmedia.net
