PEEPs Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans

1. PEEPsPersonal Emergency Evacuation Plans

2. Steve White University Fire Safety Adviser

3. Why do we do PEEPs • Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) • Health and Safety at work Act • Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 • University Policy

4. What Legislation says 1.1 Legal overview The Fire and Rescue Service’s role in fire evacuation is that of ensuring that the means of escape in case of fire and associated fire safety measures provided for all people who may be in a building are both adequate and reasonable, taking into account the circumstances of each particular case. Under current fire safety legislation it is the responsibility of the persons having responsibility for the building to provide a fire safety risk assessment that includes an emergency evacuation plan for all people likely to be in the premises, including disabled people, and how that plan will be implemented. Such an evacuation plan should not rely upon the intervention of the Fire and Rescue Service to make it work. In the case of multi-occupancy buildings, responsibility may rest with a number of persons for each occupying organisation and with the owners of the building. It is important that they co-operate and co-ordinate evacuation plans with each other. This could present a particular problem in multi-occupancy buildings when the different escape plans and strategies need to be co-ordinated from a central point. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) does not make any change to these requirements: it underpins the current fire safety legislation in England and Wales – the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – by requiring that employers or organisations providing services to the public take responsibility for ensuring that all people, including disabled people, can leave the building they control safely in the event of a fire. Where an employer or a service provider does not make provision for the safe evacuation of disabled people from its premises, this may be viewed as discrimination. It may also constitute a failure to comply with the requirements of the fire safety legislation mentioned above. Public bodies have an additional duty, called the Disability Equality Duty (DED), which from December 2006 requires them to proactively promote the equality of disabled people. This will require them to do even more to ensure that disabled people do not face discrimination by not being provided with a safe evacuation plan from a building. DCLG Fire Safety Risk Assessment: Means of Escape for Disabled People (Supplementary Guide, 2007)

5. Identifying the need for a PEEP UCAS form to School UCAS form to Enabling Services Prospective Visit Report – Needs of student Letter to Student – student declares disability Student accepted Copy of report to SSO, School Manager Student accepted mid August for October start - 6 weeks?

6. Keeping it in perspective • 1850 declared through Banner (students) • Approx 150 not disclosed - accommodation • 917 of that are Dyslexia students • 50 with mobility/complex problems • Intake this year 20

7. PEEP – When Do We Do it? New students and staff New staff and students - preferably prior to taking up post or starting studies at the University or, alternatively, as soon as possible after arriving Existing students and staff As soon as impaired ability to evacuate is “declared” or there are “reasonable grounds to suspect an impairment”

8. Who’s Responsible Emergency Egress for People with Disabilities – Guidance on Implementation J:\Safety\DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT\Guidance (GU)\PEEP guidance\Version 0\Working 3. Responsibility With the exception of a student in Hall’s, where responsibility falls on the Halls Manager, the Dean or Director of Professional Service in which a member of staff is/or is to be employed or student is/or is to be registered has the responsibility to ensure that all necessary PEEPs are produced and regularly reviewed. They are to nominate a member of staff to carry out this duty. Directors / Managers of areas in Public use’ buildings[1] will develop arrangements in accordance with University policy. The development of emergency evacuation plans public use areas must include provision for the mobility impaired. These provisions will usually then only require the arrangements to be made known to or tailored to the needs of an individual, to form part of their overall PEEP. [1] This term includes libraries, catering and bar areas, careers, Students’ Union buildings and public workstation and Common learning space areas.

9. Dean of Faculty/Director of Professional Service nominates member of staff to produce PEEPs. (For students in Hall this will be the Halls Manager) Nominated person meets person needing PEEPs ideally before they start work or course of study and discusses needs, based on the ‘prospective visit’ assessment report from Enabling Services (students) Summary Flowchart for PEEPs Check that horizontal escape routes provide adequate access and decide if assistance or alterations required For each individual, decide/establish if assistance is required, who will best positioned to give assistance (if required) and how the individual needing assistance will be located. Your findings should be documented, even if no action is required. Consider how vertical evacuation will be achieved. If assistance is required decide who will provide it, where they are needed, when they are needed (remember to plan for work outside ‘office’ hours if access is required). Identify any emergency escape equipment that will be required and where it will be located.

10. Identify training needs of all those identified as providing assistance and the individual being assisted Ensure equipment is provided and properly located. Ensure training is delivered and keep a record. Produce individual instruction sheets for those who will provide assistance Review the PEEP Record the PEEP

11. Things to consider • Actively involve the impaired person • Consider all areas that you reasonably expect the assessed person to use • Relocate the activity? • Monitor progress to ensure that any changes have been made • Keep assessed person up to date with progress • Ensure that once adjustments have been made that these have met the actual requirements of the PEEP

12. What have we got that help us Evacuation Lifts – 29 Buildings 2 (x2), 4, 7, 13, 19, 29, 30, 32 (x2), 36, 37, 39, 40, 42, 44, 45, 46, 53, 54, 58, WSA, 65 (x2), 67, 85 (x2) Evac-chairs Building Emergency Plans School/PS Safety Officers

13. Continuous monitoring & Improvement • Monitor the assessment • Make sure the PEEP remains relevant • Get feedback following alarm actuations and drills to gauge how successful the arrangements are • Review the assessment at least annually. This may be more frequent if the impairment condition changes.

14. Available Guidance • Emergency Egress for People with Disabilities - Guidance on Implementation • DCLG Fire Safety Risk Assessment: Means of Escape for Disabled People • DCLG Fire Safety Risk Assessment: Educational Premises • BS 9999:2008

15. Question time