How to evacuate during a fire alarm from the 12th floor in a wheelchair– You can’t.

MADISON, WI – You are 69 years old. You wake up to a fire alarm. You readily get dressed and exit your home on the 12th floor of a condominium. However, you are in a wheelchair. What do you do next? 

 

This is what Jane Nemke had to ask herself last week after a fire alarm went off late into the night. Jane, a resident of Metropolitan Place I Condominiums on West Washington Ave., described this moment as her "wake-up-call" because she realized she did not have an evacuation plan in case of an emergency. 

 

"I rode in my wheelchair down to the end of the hallway. And I just asked the neighbors and said, 'Can you – if this is a real emergency – tell them [to] send a fire person up to rescue me?' Preferably, a handsome strong man," Nemke said. "Otherwise tell me if it's a false alarm because obviously I can't go anywhere. But again, it was that false alarm that was oh my god, I don't have a plan."  

 

After her "wake-up call," Jane took action immediately. She contacted the fire department to find out their recommendations for her and others with mobility issues in case of a fire or another evacuation emergency.    

 

In her conversation with a fire department official, Jane asked if they could take her name down on a list in case of an emergency at their building so they know her location. Due to liability and accuracy issues, the fire department will not keep these lists. However, they did explain the safest possible option during an evacuation. 

 

"Depending on what your mobility level is, you determine where's the safest place you should stay in the event of a fire. In the event of a fire, the fire department recommends trying to at least get as far as the stairwell," Nemke said. "The bottom line is if it's at all safe, exit to a stairwell. But before you do, call 911 and tell the fire department exactly where you are using the labels at the stairwell."

 

Jane took these recommendations and found people within her building who had mobility issues or who were interested in finding additional solutions in case of an emergency. One resident Lakshmi Sridharan joined the group after she had similar concerns when she had to help her husband walk down 11 flights of stairs to evacuate the building. 

 

After meeting several times, the group came up with a recommendation to the condominium board and other residents in Metropolitan Place on how they would like to move forward when handling these serious situations. 

 

"So we're what we're recommending is that everybody just get a buddy system, find somebody who's willing to be your point person in the event of an emergency," Nemke said. "And really what it is, is a communication link, so that you can have the person call you as soon as they know whether or not it's a real emergency."

 

Jane further explains the importance of individual safety plans and being prepared in case of an emergency. 

 

"Time is of the essence. And then every human being is responsible for their own safety. So you can't lay the burden of your own safety on someone else," Nemke said. "Every individual needs to have a game plan. So offloading that responsibility to the office or the fire department or whatever is not very practical because people change."