Cornell Communications Rescue Assistance Made Easy Article

LIFESafety Assistance Assistance Easy Easy by John Mesenbrink, Managing Editor he prospect of meeting exacting of the Americans with Act (ADA) may be for building owners and managers, especially those fac- their first experience with the require- Detailed and intricate, the man- for ADA Area of Rescue Assistance multi-story buildings mean extra time cost to do everything correctly. are cost-effective systems available that meet the of the law while transforming build- compliance into a simpler project. no mistake about it; providing an and a means for a disabled person to evacuation assistance in an emer- in a multi-story commercial or accommodation building is the As per Title III of the Americans with Act, Section 7.5135: Areas of assistance are generally required each floor, other than the ground floor, a multi-story building. Specific require- are provided for such features as size, stairway, width and two- communications. underlying intent of this law is noble, as it is meant to save lives, JJ Johnson, president of Cornell Inc. of Milwaukee. a handicapped person trapped a building when a fire breaks out. If the aren safe to use, then that only the stairs. But if that individual only get around in a wheelchair, then they can get down the fire That person would have to find a to wait until someone came to the There has always been this termi- of Area of Refuge, as the area the stairwell, but the new law that you now must put in some for the disabled to communicate to personnel that they are stuck and need help, Johnson. Law of the Land the actual floor space for Area of Rescue Assistance often exists compliant stairwells as per state local building and fire codes. What federal law and court decision add to mix is signage and a means of elec- communication. Section 4.311.4 of ADA Accessibility Guidelines states: A of two-way communications, both visible and audible signals, shall provided between each Area of Rescue and the primary entry. that it isn enough to simply have means for a disabled person to sound an There must be two-way communi- so that, for example, a fireman at building entrance can confirm to a disabled person that help has An audible tone can suffice, but confirmation is preferred. A visible Assistance Plan of Rescue Assistance must same protecton and rating as stairway sign indicating of nearest Area of Assistance location for of Rescue Assistance sign communicator for of space and identified by a sign which Rescue . Lettering shall permanent and comply Section 4.30 of with Disabilities Accessibility Guidelines. states are enforcing more diligently others, yet a building can hardly afford to on leniency at the local Dale Austin, a sales with C&B Sales Associates, in Charlotte, North it the local building who seek compli- There are fines to pay if it discovered that you don it [proper lettering] in. biggest argument I use I engineer jobs for cus- is, got to have it. a matter of pay me now or me later. the prove quite painful, as evi- by Section 8.4000 of The [of Justice] may a civil action in any US district court . court may award mone- damages that include all of compensatory dam- out-of-pocket expenses damages for pain and suf- to individual victims of Also, the court assess a civil penalty the covered entity in amount not exceeding