The block where I reside at consists of four apartments, two on the ground floor and two on the 1st floor shared with a communal hallway and a stairway with a chair lift. I live on the ground floor and my wife is disabled and uses the chair lift for visiting the upstairs tenants and for accessing the upstairs communal windows.
The HA appear determined to get rid of the chair lift probably on financial grounds a Fire Risk Assessment was arranged by the HA. The chair lift was reported to be an obstruction on the stair case in the event of a fire, and was given a medium risk rating and the recommendation was to remove the chair lift, which is being carried out next week. The removal of the chair lift will cause a disadvantage to my wife by restricting her access in the communal areas.
My question is do you experts consider that the removal of the chair lift is justified? There are only two tenants living on the 1st floor. I am overweight and I have a few mobility issues and I don't find the chair lift to be a significant obstruction.
I took a small video clip to help to see the problem.
https://youtu.be/gE0jtvhkebU
Chair lift being removed on the grounds of safety?
Moderator: Moderators
-
witsd
- Grand Shidoshi
- Posts: 1087
- Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2014 4:37 pm
- 9
- Occupation: Fire safety officer
- Location: Glasgow
- Has thanked: 91 times
- Been thanked: 265 times
Re: Chair lift being removed on the grounds of safety?
It comes down to the assessor's judgement.
How many people live in the two upstairs flats? Do they have any mobility issues themselves? Is there emergency lighting in the stairwell? Could the chair be swapped for a more slim-line model, or would the cost be prohibitive?
In the video, it's clear that people can easily squeeze past the chair, but that's with good illumination and no reason to panic. Take those out of the equation and it might be a very different story.
You might be right that it's a financial decision and the HA simply don't want to pay someone for maintenance of the chair, but it's still not necessarily the wrong call to remove it from what I can see.
Other opinions may vary.
How many people live in the two upstairs flats? Do they have any mobility issues themselves? Is there emergency lighting in the stairwell? Could the chair be swapped for a more slim-line model, or would the cost be prohibitive?
In the video, it's clear that people can easily squeeze past the chair, but that's with good illumination and no reason to panic. Take those out of the equation and it might be a very different story.
You might be right that it's a financial decision and the HA simply don't want to pay someone for maintenance of the chair, but it's still not necessarily the wrong call to remove it from what I can see.
Other opinions may vary.
We often think that when we have completed our study of one we know all about two, because 'two' is 'one and one.' We forget that we still have to make a study of 'and.'
Re: Chair lift being removed on the grounds of safety?
Thank you for your reply.
There are two abled bodied tenants living on the upstairs floor with no mobility issues. There is emergency lighting in the stairwell upstairs and downstairs. The staircase hallway is classified to be sterile (fire proofed). There is also a 'stay put' fire escape policy in place.
I have also asked if a slimmer stair lift could be fitted or the stair lift rail track extended, unfortunately the HA will not comment and are adamant that the stair lift is to be removed.
There are two abled bodied tenants living on the upstairs floor with no mobility issues. There is emergency lighting in the stairwell upstairs and downstairs. The staircase hallway is classified to be sterile (fire proofed). There is also a 'stay put' fire escape policy in place.
I have also asked if a slimmer stair lift could be fitted or the stair lift rail track extended, unfortunately the HA will not comment and are adamant that the stair lift is to be removed.
Re: Chair lift being removed on the grounds of safety?
Another point to consider is, does the stair lift have an independent emergency power supply to it. Then in the event of a fire which for example trips the main fuse for the building, would the stair lift continue to work and get your wife down to safety.
The last thing you would want is everybody retreating back in to their flats under the stay put policy and your wife sitting on a non-functioning stair lift in a stairwell which is filling up with smoke.
Its clear you are passionate about keeping it, and I can understand that. But can it realistically be considered as a piece of means of escape equipment.
Also they are by nature incredibility slow moving and I am not sure if that is an advantage during a fire. But I can certainly see from what you are saying that its removal will most certainly effect you and your wife's quality of life, but I don't think you will be able to justify its retention by saying that its required for escape purposes.
The last thing you would want is everybody retreating back in to their flats under the stay put policy and your wife sitting on a non-functioning stair lift in a stairwell which is filling up with smoke.
Its clear you are passionate about keeping it, and I can understand that. But can it realistically be considered as a piece of means of escape equipment.
Also they are by nature incredibility slow moving and I am not sure if that is an advantage during a fire. But I can certainly see from what you are saying that its removal will most certainly effect you and your wife's quality of life, but I don't think you will be able to justify its retention by saying that its required for escape purposes.
