• ​Follow instructions from the College Emergency Response Team (CERT) members and/or first responders.
  • If it is safe to do so, take your personal belongings and put away sensitive material. Position all items you will take with you so they are secure but quickly accessible. Remember – No personal property or location property is worth risking your safety or life.
  • After asking, assist staff or visitors with mobility issues who may need assistance.
  • Keep in mind that you might have to evacuate on foot in certain emergency situations  (example: tanker fire blocking a road).

Evacuation at Locations With Multiple Floors

  • During evacuations, the fire department currently advises people not to carry individuals with disabilities downstairs, and, of course, never use an elevator during a fire.
  • Attempt a rescue evacuation only if you have had evacuation rescue training or the person is in immediate life-threatening danger and cannot wait for professional assistance.
  • Always ask someone with a disability how you can help and their permission before attempting any rescue technique or giving assistance. Ask how he or she can best be assisted or moved, and whether there are any special considerations or items that need to come with the person.
  • In an evacuation from upper floors, if the elevators are unavailable (example: fire), the fire department recommends that you assist people with physical disabilities to the nearest accessible fire-rated stairwell, preferably near elevators, so first responders can override the elevator’s fire-mode if it is safe to do so. Choose a visible spot out of the traffic flow.
  • If unable to exit a floor during a fire, in most buildings, inside a fire-rated stairwell is the place to wait for first responders.
  • Immediately send someone or go down the stairs and locate a first responder or CERT member who can relay the information to the Incident Commander, who will then dispatch first responders to the individual’s location.
  • The fire department states that well-meaning individuals may cause injury or death to themselves or to their disabled friend if they attempt an untrained rescue.