FEATURED ARTICLE
Emergency Evacuation and Lifts in a Building by Vanessa Griffin Vista Access Architects
Vanessa has over 20 years experience in the construction industry, working in a variety of roles, from the certification of buildings, to the undertaking fire safety upgrades to existing buildings and more recently as an ACAA Accredited Access Consultant. Vanessa has a passion and drive for access, not only as an Access Consultant but also in the role of Vice President on the Board of NADO (Nepean Area Disability Organisation), and the Disability Access Committee for the Blue Mountains City Council.
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s the National Construction Code evolves every three years with a new update, there seems to be one taboo subject that appears to never make the update to be mandated in the design of buildings. Building design standards are transformed to ensure inclusive design so that persons can enter the building, however, the NCC/BCA is almost silent on how mobility impaired, the elderly, or hospital patients may be evacuated other than with the provision of fire isolated stairs, in which many are unable to use. A lift provides all occupants the opportunity to move safely and freely around buildings and the built environment. It is very common to find signage near a lift call button “Do not use the lift in the event of a fire” and this has been industry practice for a reason: • You may not know the location of the fire within the building. The lift may very well open onto a storey within the building impacted by fire. • The lift may have a function known as ‘Go to ground’ which is a shutdown mode where the doors open and the ‘calls’ are disabled in which an occupant would not be able to call/
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request for the lift from their location during an emergency. • The fire brigade and emergency services often use the lifts to move around and gain fast access to the building leaving the stairs for the evacuation of people who are able to negotiate the stairway. The use of the lift by occupants would slow this process for the fire brigade and emergency services. • Lifts have the ability to spread smoke between storeys as they travel up and down the lift shaft within the building which can cause additional issues to occupants. Whilst this all seems logical, where lifts are not designed for this purpose, it leaves those unable to evacuate via stairs at a higher risk. In the aftermath of the collapse of the World Trade Centre Towers in New York 2001, a shifted focus was towards lifts and their use during evacuation in the event of an emergency. Designers, engineers and researchers have been asking whether the availability of lifts during emergency egress are appropriate in circumstances to improve egress from tall buildings. Research has concluded that potential difficulties impacting the evacuation of taller buildings includes obstructions (such as hydrant risers and fire hose reels), mobility impairment, illness, fatigue, counter flow (people and rescuers going the other way) and footwear that is not suited by the occupants to walking down many flights of consecutive stairs (sorry Louboutin). A lift in a building provides the freedom for an occupant or visitor to move freely within the building. This is not just restricted to people with a disability but also other members of the public including parents with prams.
THE MAGAZINE FOR THE ASSOCIATION OF CONSULTANTS IN ACCESS AUSTRALIA
