20130817 Singapore Fire alarm, but wheelchair users can’t get out of mall
Singapore Aug 17 2013 “Apartment houses” “Building”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Fire alarm, but wheelchair users can’t get out of mall
Updated: 2013-08-22-12:00
LAST Saturday, my family, which included two wheelchair users, was at the Jem mall in Jurong East when the fire alarm rang.
We tried to leave the second floor via the link to the Jurong East MRT station, but the shutters were rolled down and locked.
A mall attendant said this was to prevent any fire from affecting the MRT station. She also did not allow us to carry the wheelchairs onto the escalator, as this might slow down the evacuation of other people.
Another attendant then took us to the fire lift. However, the lift did not arrive. And anyway, using the lift is dangerous during a fire.
Then we tried to use the emergency staircase, but the door to it was locked.
Finally, an attendant managed to call the control station to open the door electronically, and the staff carried the wheelchairs and helped the occupants down the fire staircase.
The mall management needs to improve its handling of emergencies that affect wheelchair users. I hope staff can learn from this incident and prevent it from recurring.
Websource:The Straits times
http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/forum-letters/story/fire-alarm-wheelchair-users-cant-get-out-mall-20130822
Date:2013-08-22
Country:Singapore