Mayor's Disability Council

City and County of San Francisco

Resolution # 2002-01

Urging the Purchase of Emergency Evacuation Chairs

for the City and County of San Francisco

Whereas, according to the 1990 Census, the City and County of San Francisco has over 43,000 people with mobility impairments, and

Whereas, the events of September 11, 2001 have shown not only the need for emergency evacuation chairs in multi-story buildings, but also their efficacy, and

Whereas, emergency evacuation chairs would assist fire fighters in avoiding back injuries and consequent worker's compensation costs, and

Whereas, the City owns more than 50 buildings of four stories or more and more than 150 buildings of two stories or more, and

Whereas, the City is committed to the safety of both its employees and the public, and

Whereas, the Mayor's Office on Disability has tested a number of production model Emergency Evacuation Chairs, with the assistance of people with disabilities and Fire Department personnel, and

Whereas, these Evacuation Chairs have proven to be usable by untrained members of the public as well as by firefighters,

Therefore, be it resolved that the Mayor's Disability Council hereby urges the Mayor and his staff to invest in emergency evacuation chairs for all City-owned multi-story buildings, to seek emergency response funding from the state and Federal governments to assist with these costs, and to incorporate training for their use in Emergency Evacuation Plans.