Evacuation Chairs Australia

During an Emmanuel College fire drill, each student has to leave the building he’s in safely within three minutes, every student has to be accounted for

But if you are in a wheelchair, without access to elevators, right now, there is no way to exit a building without aid.

Rather, disable students are told to wait at meeting points inside the building and wait for help to arrive.

Soon, however, disabled students will be able to escape a burning building without aid, thanks to a special chair that can move down a flight of stairs.

In October, the Emmanuel College student government approved funding for an installation of one Evacuation Chair in every building on campus. The effort to acquire these chairs was spearheaded by the James Dowd and Keith Dudley, senior class President and Vice-President respectively.

“It didn’t seem right to me for a college with the motto, ‘This is your place’ to leave those with disabilities at risk,” said Dudley.

Though the funding vote passed, 11 affirmations to 5 negations with 2 members abstaining, there was some internal disagreement as to who would foot the bill for this task.

“Everyone wanted evacuation chairs,” says Dudley, “but the question was who was going to fund it.”

According to the official minutes of the funding meeting from October 26th members of the SGA felt that the money for the chairs should come from the school itself and not from the special funds put aside for student activities.

After witnessing the passion that was stirred up in the students over this issue EC Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Patricia Rissmeyer informed the SGA that the school would be funding the installation of evac-chairs, and that no money would be taken from Special Funds.