The presentation discusses accessibility and evacuation procedures for people with disabilities. It covers legislative obligations for building access, risks of non-compliance, and shortfalls in current evacuation practices. Recommendations are provided to develop safety procedures like Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans and using assistive technologies to mitigate risks and properly evacuate all building occupants.

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DISABILITY
AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
Presenter Name: Bruce Bromley
Presentation Date: 16 February 2017
for
Facility Management Association of Australia
ACCESS AND EGRESS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY

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Equal Access Group
Luminos Consulting
Luminance Contrast
Testing
EvacuLife
Emergency Evacuation
Equipment
Equal Access
Disability Access
Consultants

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Bruce Bromley
• Accredited disability access consultant, Association of Consultants in
Access Consulting (ACAA)
• Over 30 years in the building industry – disability access, building design
& project management
• Registered building practitioner – building designer
• Specialist in evacuation policy for people with disability
• Member of the Fire Protection Association Australia (FPAA), technical
advisory committee TAC 17: Emergency Workplace Evacuation (AS3745)

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Topics:
• Principles of Accessibility
• Legislative obligations and Corporate Responsibilities
• Risks & Liabilities faced by facility managers and building owners
• Shortfalls of Evacuation of people with disability
• Safety Procedures to Mitigate Risk

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Principles of Accessibility

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Disability Awareness - Statistics
• ABS statistics report that approximately 20% of people have some form
of disability (majority relate to physical and sensory impairments)
• Figures would be higher if we consider our ageing population

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The Definitions of ‘Disability’ Include:
– Physical – wheelchair users, amputees, etc.
– Intellectual – autism, down syndrome, etc.
– Psychiatric – schizophrenia, depression, etc.
– Sensory – hearing, vision, touch
– Neurological – epilepsy, acquired brain injury, Parkinson's disease, MS
– Learning disabilities – dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia
– Physical disfigurement
– The presence in the body of disease-causing organisms – hepatitis, aids, etc.
• Some people may have multiple disabilities

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Disability Awareness - Language
• Use the term ‘accessible’ rather than ‘disabled’ – accessible toilet,
accessible car parking, accessible entry
• Universal design principals - accessible for everyone. Think of prams,
deliveries, etc.
• Refer to a person with a disability rather than a disabled person. Put the
person first, like the Scope ads “see the person, not the disability”

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Disability Standards
 Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport 2002 - known as the
‘Transport Standards’ – sets out technical requirements and target dates
(up to 2032) for public transport buildings and conveyances
 Disability (Access to Premises – Buildings) Standards 2010 – known as
the ‘Premises Standards’– sets out technical requirements for buildings
 Compliance with these standards provides for immunity against a
complaint under the DDA and EOA, but only for elements covered by the
standards

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Premises Standards - Application
• Not applied retrospectively to existing buildings
• Applies to:
– New buildings
– Portions of existing buildings being upgraded
– All portions of existing buildings subject to major alterations and
additions or ‘change of use’
• New benchmark for any access related complaints under the DDA or EOA
(i.e. existing unaltered buildings)

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Risks & Liabilities faced by facility
managers and building owners

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Premises Standards - Responsibilities
• The Premises Standards introduces responsibilities for a number of
stakeholders:
– Building designers
– Building surveyors
– Property owners
– Local Councils
– Developers
– Project managers
– Builders
– Property lessees
– Property managers

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Case 1
Toomey v Scolaro’s Concrete Constructions
• On 2 March 1996, Mr Toomey fell over a defective balustrade at a
residential apartment block that was non-compliant and suffered
serious injuries to his back. A contributing factor was two team mates
wrestling on the stair.
• Mr Toomey became a quadriplegic and will spend the rest of his life
in a wheelchair

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Liability
• In the end, Justice Geoffrey Eames decided that the responsibility of this
case rests on a total of nine defendants and awarded $2.248M in
damages paid by:
– The two men wrestling on the stair 50% of compensation
• Balance 50% equally paid by the following:
– two main building construction companies,
– the apartment’s architect,
– the building surveyor,
– the building inspector,
– the developer, and
– the building manager

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Case 2: Quadriplegic sues Melbourne building
owner after falling down stairs
• November 14, 2013
• A corporate banker who was left a quadriplegic
after tumbling headfirst down a flight of steps
and into a parked car is suing the building’s
owner.

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Case 2: Continued
• Ms Enconniere claims that Misteme Pty Ltd owed her a duty of care to
ensure the premises were in a safe condition for her use.
• She claims the company was negligent, creating a dangerous situation by
failing to ensure the steps had a handrail and failing to heed their steep
nature and the risks of a person falling on them.
• This claim has now been lodged with the Supreme Court.
• Watch this space for the result

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Compliance of both stairs
When assessing a stair we check 23 elements including:
• Tread length/ riser height & design
• Tactile ground surface indicators (design and contrast)
• Stair nosing’s (design and contrast)
• Handrail design
• Balustrading

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Shortfalls of Evacuation of people
with disability

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How would you feel if you were left behind?

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Prescriptive Requirements for Evacuating
People with Disability
• There are currently no Deemed to Satisfy requirements within the
Building Code of Australia that address the evacuation of people with
disability.
• If a building is Fire Engineered, BCA DP4 & DP6 state the following must
be considered;
‘the number, mobility and other
characteristics of occupants’

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Prescriptive Requirements for Evacuating
People with Disability
• Too often we see fire engineers assess the fire safety of the building by
modelling a reference building and not directly considering disability
types within the new building.
• In many cases the easy path is taken and instead of fire safety measures
being built into the building, they reference AS3745 Planning for
Emergencies in Facilities to place the obligation into the buildings
evacuation plan.

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Safety Procedures to Mitigate Risk

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Evacuation of PWD Considerations
• Exits & emergency evacuation are not covered in the the Premises
Standards, but there are obligations under Work Health And Safety
Regulation 2011 & AS 3745 Planning for emergencies in facilities
• Elements of evacuation
• Technical details/ egress policy
• Consultation & Implementation
• Assistive Technology
• Refuges

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Important points to remember in an
emergency
• Each person is different
• Each person can have different needs
• The issue of safety is an important one for people with disability if they
need to rely on another person for assistance
• Some people may not hear or respond to emergency warnings, siren,
bells, shouts or lights
• Visual clues or communications may be limited by poor
visibility due to smoke or electrical failure

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International Trends Example: Fire Refuges
• Refuges need to be a fire separated compartment preferably located
within fire stairs.
• The landing at each level needs to be increased in size and should, as a
minimum, provide for two A90 wheelchairs with an occupied footprint of
1300 x 800mm and allow for required space for turning.
Communication Device
• Refuges need to be equipped with a two way communication system
back to the fire panel and needs to be readily operated by, and
comprehensible for, people with a disability.

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Emergency Management

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Emergency Management

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PEEPs
• Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans must be developed for all staff
members with a disability.
• Consideration must be given to building visitors with disability.
• PEEPs must be prepared and provided to floor wardens.
• Practice, practice, practice.

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The Four Elements of Evacuation to be
considered when developing a PEEP.
• Notification
What is the emergency?
• Wayfinding
Where is the way out?
• Path of Egress
Can I get out myself, or do I need help?
• Assistance
What kind of assistance might I need?

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Example of a PEEP

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Types of Assistive Technology
• Stairwell Evacuation Devices including evacuation
chairs and evacuation sleds.
• Directional Sound Alarms
• Strobe Lights
• Scrolling Reader Boards
• Vibrating Personal Notification Devices
• Evacuation Masks

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Types of Evacuation Equipment

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This Morning We Have Discussed
• Principles of Accessibility
• Legislative obligations and Corporate Responsibilities
• Risks & Liabilities faced by facility managers and building owners
• Shortfalls of Evacuation of people with disability
• Safety Procedures to Mitigate Risk

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In Conclusion
• What we have discussed may seem onerous.
• We must appreciate the diversity in communities and changes in
community attitudes.
• There are obligations that must now be considered, including:
– Rapidly changing legal standards,
– Financial considerations, e.g., insurance premiums and claims,
– Potential for highly damaging reputational risk.
• Which means the access and egress considerations as
we have discussed today must be taken more seriously.

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Resources: Equal Access Group
• Equal Access Pty Ltd
disabilityaccessconsultants.com.au
• Evacuation Chairs Australia
evacuationchairs.com.au
• Luminos Consulting
luminos.com.au