Message from Environmental Health and Safety on building evacuation plans

The following is a message to faculty, staff and students from Environmental Health and Safety: 

Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) is starting an initiative to aid in evacuating persons with disabilities from buildings in alarm. EHS invites all persons who feel they will need additional help evacuating a building to identify themselves to EHS.

Once identified EHS will work with the individual and their department to create an individual evacuation plan. Plans can vary greatly based on disability, the space occupied, and the fire and life safety systems currently installed within a building. This is why it is important to identify issues prior to an evacuation occurring.

EHS has already had success with a number of individuals on campus in developing individual evacuation plans and hopes to continue to make progress campus wide. Attached is a package from Human Resource and Skills Development Canada Office of Disability Issues.

The package outlines the need for collaboration between the building owners and occupants when putting together individual evacuation plans. If you feel that you may require assistance evacuating a building, please have a look at the checklist within the package (Section 6) to see what, if any, procedures or aids are already in place and what, if any, may be missing.

The University encourages but does not require persons with disabilities to contact EHS.

To discuss the creation of an individual evacuation plan please contact:

John Dodd B.A., CRM
Safety Coordinator
Environmental Health and Safety
191 Extended Education Complex
Office: 204-474-9083
Cell: 204-290-4631
Email: john.dodd@umanitoba.ca