Evac Chairs for Moving People with Disabilities

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

As an employer when you have a new employee start, on their first day it’s likely that you’ll take them around the building. This not only gives them the chance to meet their fellow colleagues, but it’ll also familiarise them with the layout of the building and show them where the nearest fire exits are, should an emergency happen. It’s also likely that you’ll run through the evacuation process, and with regular fire drills an evacuation shouldn’t be a problem for the able bodied. However for those staff members with a disability, the process can be difficult. This is where an evac chair can help.

Here at K5 we appreciate the importance of a safe evacuation in an emergency for everyone inside the building, which is why we provide companies with an evac chair from an unbeatable range, to help those with a disability leave the property safely and quickly.

Whether it’s a powered evac chair or an evacuation chair which requires someone to push it, here at K5 we stock them and over the years we’ve supplied a range of evacuation chairs to a number of premises from hospitals and schools, to offices and football stadiums. During this time, we’ve grown accustomed to selecting the chairs which help make an evacuation for people with disabilities run smoother in that particular situation.

One of the chairs we stock that’s ideal for helping those with disabilities evacuate a building is the Exitmaster Versa. This chair is not only simple to set up when it’s needed, but it is extremely sturdy, being able to hold up to 21 stone and comes with ease of access as it doesn’t have any sides.

Under the improved Disability Discrimination Act, which was amended on October 1st 2010, it is now a legal requirement for all buildings to have disability access. Along with making reasonable adjustments an evac chair will also help improve the ease in which disabled people can evacuate the premises in case of an emergency.

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Tips for Looking After Your Evac Chair

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

In any business it’s important for the safety of your staff, customers and any potential visitors that you adhere to all current health and safety guidelines. It’s equally important that you and your staff, both new and those who have been there for a number of months/years, are kept up to date with all legislation. However, knowing the relevant legislation and what to do in an emergency can be rendered pointless by a poorly cared for piece of safety equipment, which is why here at K5 we’ve provided some useful tips for looking after your evac chair.

Here at K5 we provide a range of evac chairs, including manual and powered chairs, from some of the leading names in the industry. But it doesn’t matter which chair you have, if you haven’t maintained it correctly.

To ensure that your manual evac chair is looked after correctly, here at K5, we’d suggest:

1)    Keeping the chair somewhere safe (but within easy reach in case of emergency) to make sure that it doesn’t become damaged during the everyday running of your business

2)    Regularly checking to make sure all straps are in working order and safely secured to the chair itself – when doing this, it’s also wise to check the fabric on the main seat

3)    Testing the wheels to make sure that they rotate smoothly to prevent any sudden jolts when in use

4)    Ensure there are no sharp edges or parts of the frame loose which could cause harm

If your company has a powered evacuation chair, along with the four steps above, it is also important to make sure that the batteries which power it are fully charged.

Should you find any fault with your evac chair whilst carrying out any of the above steps, then it is equally important that instead of hoping you’ll never have to use the chair, you instead contact us here at K5 so that we can provide you with our repair of replacement services.

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Why You Need Your Evac Chair Serviced

Friday, October 8th, 2010

An evacuation chair is a crucial piece of equipment within any commercial environment. Whilst previously it was thought to be the responsibility of the fire service to remove wheelchair users from buildings in the case of an emergency, in actual fact the responsibility lies with the property manager. An evac chair can be used to remove individuals that use wheelchairs from a building quickly and easily, even if the only escape route is a flight of stairs. Like any equipment it is important that evac chairs are regularly serviced, to maintain their safety and reliability.

At K5 we specialise in the supply of evacuation chairs and disability access products to both commercial and domestic clients. In addition to the products that can be viewed on the website, we also offer maintenance and servicing to both those that have bought evacuation chairs through us and through other retailers.

It is a legal requirement for all evac chairs to undergo annual checks to ensure that they are safe for use in an emergency. We can arrange annual maintenance schemes and equipment checks for our services, making it even easier for businesses to comply with the necessary standards.

A member of our qualified team will visit the premises at a specified time and complete an on-site service. This means that businesses do not need to worry about making arrangements for a replacement chair, whilst theirs is being serviced. The check consists of a 25-point service and once complete the equipment will be stamped safe for use.

Information about our evac chair services and some of the products that we have available to purchase can be viewed on our website. Arranging a service really couldn’t be simpler, just fill out our online contact form to arrange for a member of our team to call you back.

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Evac chairs for emergency stairway descent

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Current UK legislations require that all people should be evacuated from a building safely and promptly in the event of an emergency such as a fire. Naturally steps and staircases are the route of exit for non-disabled users, but what about the needs of people with disabilities? This is where the efficiency and usability of evacuation chairs is needed the most. An evac chair supplied by K5 has been specifically designed to facilitate the secure and timely evacuation of disabled people or those with walking difficulties.

Traditional methods of escape assume that users are capable of escaping via an emergency exit or staircase. This presumption is inadequate and actually dangerous to those for whom immediate escape is not necessarily an option. In response to legislation many Building Managers have introduced refuge areas, which really fail to ensure the safety of their building’s disabled users. These areas are a short-sighted and short-term solution, and leave people with disabilities vulnerable to harm if there is not a rapid response from the fire services.

Many businesses still believe that the evacuation of people with disabilities is the responsibility of the emergency services, and that further to the provision of refuge areas there is nothing else they can do. This naive mindset puts their disabled employees in danger, and the importance of a comprehensive evacuation strategy in any building cannot be stressed enough.

The installation of an evac chair at a property is essential if the business has workers with disabilities using the building. These safety chairs can be operated by one individual, meaning they are ideal for evacuating disabled people out of building safely and efficiently.

An evac chair should incorporate safety breaks on the rear wheels, a sturdy and resilient framework, supportive seat and advanced belt system for ease of travel and, most pertinently in times of emergency, instant deployment. These features are all consistent with the models supplied by K5, who are committed to ensuring the independence and safety of people with disabilities.

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