Sign-up to receive e-ACCESS, a new quarterly newsletter designed to help reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life for people with disabilities. The first issue will be mailed in late May 2008.

More than 43 million Americans have a disability. The identity of the group of Americans with disabilities is constantly changing — at any moment we ourselves could become part of this group, for maybe a short time or maybe for a long time. 

Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide
NFPA's Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide for People with Disabilities was developed with input from the disability community. It  provides information on the five general categories of disabilities (mobility, visual, hearing, speech, and cognitive) and the four elements of evacuation information that occupants need (notification, way finding, use of the way, and assistance).

The Guide includes a checklist that building services managers and people with disabilities can use to design a personalized evacuation plan. The annexes give government resources and text based on the relevant code requirements and ADA criteria.

• Planning guide in PDF format  (1 MB) or  Word (1.9 MB)
• Planning Checklist Word (192 KB)

Student Planning Guide
A separate guide has been developed to help teachers, administrators, parents, and others look at issues that are relevant to a student’s ability to evacuate a building in an emergency.

• Student guide in PDF format (152 KB) or Word (392 KB)

These guides were prepared by NFPA staff. Comments and suggestions may be sent to Allan B. Fraser, afraser@nfpa.org or +1 617 984 7411.

NFPA's workplace safety for people with disabilities information sheet includes information on emergency planning, suggested evacuation aids, drills and training, and practicing and maintaining workplace escape plans.

• English (PDF, 1 MB)
• for Spanish-language speakers in the U.S. (PDF, 2 MB) or in Latin America (PDF, 2 MB)

Teaching tips for fire safety educators
Basic fire safety information needs to be conveyed in a way that gives all children the opportunity to learn and practice fire safety skills. Keep in mind that general fire safety tips still apply to all. Children with disabilities are first and foremost children, and will benefit from the years of conventional wisdom that went into creating fire safety programs.

• English (PDF, 54 KB)
• Spanish (PDF, 61 KB)

Lesson plan for teachers
This scenario card lesson plan is designed to teach early elementary school children about fire escape planning and practice in the school setting and the importance of escape planning for children with disabilities.