Emergency Preparedness

Shepherd Center launched the RESCUE program, a community service program providing home alert labels and education for people with physical and/or cognitive limitations who find themselves in emergency situations.

The mission is to aide in quicker response times and the creation of better emergency plans. Turn to RESCUE for guidance in communication your needs to your own first responders.

Submit our RESCUE program request form to request a RESCUE sticker and informational material.

The following fire safety tips are designed specifically for people with mobility and/or cognitive impairments, and are meant to encourage you and your caregivers to think about your safety in the event of a fire.

How will you know there is a fire?

When you have mobility or cognitive impairment, it becomes even more important to be aware of a fire as soon as possible. The sooner you know, the more time you have to react.

• Make sure smoke alarms are installed in your home and work area, and be sure to test them at least once a month and change the batteries twice a year. This simple technique can reduce your chances of dying in a fire by 60%.

How will you get help?

• Keep an accessible phone with you at all times, even at night. This could be a cell phone or a sip-n-puff phone next to the bed, or a picture phone.
• Consider a home fire alarm system that can provide monitoring and alert your local fire department immediately if the alarms are activated.
• Be sure that your address is easily visible from the street so that first responders can find you quickly.
• Make sure your wheelchair or mobility device is always within reach for a transfer when you are not using it, for example when you’re in bed or sitting on a couch. 

What if you have to wait for firefighters?

• If at all possible, get yourself out of your wheelchair or bed onto the floor. Smoke rises, and the best air for breathing will be down low.
• If you’re in a public building, even if you can’t get down the stairs, locate an area of refuge. This is often inside the stairwell as these areas are often designed to resist fire longer than other rooms. Other areas may be located in an elevator lobby or other designated fire-rated safe havens. This is also a place firefighters will look for survivors first.

Plan ahead

• Place the RESCUE label in a visible location on the front of your home. This is the standardized placement recommended by emergency responders.
• Make sure you have two accessible entrances/exits in your home. If at all possible, try to have your sleeping area near an accessible exit. Consider the easiest rooms of your house to get in and out of. Note this may not be traditional bedroom. Consider the ground floor as a possibility to avoid navigating stairs in the event of an emergency.
• Consider installing sprinkler systems, fire-safe compartment walls, or using flame-resistant blankets and clothing to increase the time you have to be safely rescued.
• Consider placing a draw sheet on your bed so that responders may be able to grab the sheet quickly and get you to safety.
• Have your medications together at all times so that you can have someone grab them quickly if necessary.
• Visit your local fire department three days in a row. This will ensure that you meet all the personnel, regardless of which shift they work.
  • Ask them to add you into their database so that if you call with an emergency the information about your disability will be on file.
  • Give them a copy of your escape plan and find out if they have any suggestions for your plan.
  • Offer to teach the firefighters about your wheelchair or mobility device. If you use a manual wheelchair, show the firefighters which parts are removable; this will help them know whether it is sturdy enough if they want to carry you in your chair. If you use a power wheelchair, show the firefighters how to put your wheelchair into and out of gear; you may even want to put brightly colored tape on your brakes to make them easier to identify in the event of an emergency.
  • Explain to firefighters what you are, and are not, capable of physically and/or cognitively.
  • Explain to the firefighters if symptoms of your disability could be confused with alcohol or drug intoxication, such as slurred speech, unsteady gait, dizziness, and confusion.
  • Have your caregivers educate the firefighters if you have any communication difficulties.
  • Answer any questions the firefighters may have for you.

Fire safety must start at home

In the kitchen

• In some situations, it may be recommended that some individuals with cognitive impairments not be allowed to cook at all, while others can be allowed to cook with the proper equipment and guidelines in place.
• At first, it may be recommended that someone be in the kitchen at all times while the individual with a brain injury is cooking to increase safety. This is to ensure that:
  • Stove burners are properly turned off.
  • Stove burners are set to the appropriate cooking level.
  • Flammable items, such as paper towels or a kitchen towel, are not left near burners or fire.
  • Food is not left unattended while it is cooking, even for a minute.
• Wear tight-fitting clothing when cooking over an open flame.
• Turn pot handles away from the front of the stove so they cannot be pulled down.
• Never overload extension cords with too many wires and do not place in high traffic areas.
• Replace appliances that begin to produce smoke or have frayed wires.
• While using a microwave, do not cook items for too long or place inappropriate objects in the microwave (i.e. metal).
  • Use check lists while cooking so that no step is missed – including turning the stove off.
  • Stick to familiar cooking routines.
  • Some individuals may benefit from adaptive equipment to increase their safety while cooking, such as a stove that turns itself off if it has been left on for a certain period of time.

Around the house

• Avoid the use of matches and candles. Use check lists while ironing or have supervision from a friend or family member to increase safety.
• If you smoke, never leave your smoking materials unattended and never smoke in bed.
• Make sure you have leave at least 3 feet between a space heater and any flammable materials.
• Keep flammable materials outside your home, such as gasoline or propane.

Work evacuations

• Plan detailed escape plans for your workplace and practice them.
• Give copies of your work escape plans to all of the people you designated as possible helpers – your supervisors, building managers and municipal departments that might be first responders. It is helpful to review your plan with designated helpers once a year.
• Identify all usable exits and fire rated areas of refuge.
  • Will you need to do a transfer? How many people will you need to help you?
  • Can you maneuver the escape route independently? Remember that elevators are not an option in the event of a fire. How many people will you need to help you maneuver the escape route?
  • If you’ll need help with a route or a transfer, designate individuals (at work or in your home) to help you. Make sure the helpers are skilled. Practice specific transfers and/or specific ways to maneuver stairs until the helpers are very comfortable.
  • At work, identify at least twice the number of people required to provide assistance in case one or more is not available at any given time.

• Your basic supplies should include 72 hours worth of water, food, necessary medications, and supplies.
• Have a battery-powered radio and flashlight with extra batteries on-hand.
• Consider purchasing a generator for your home, especially if you use a ventilator or other specialty medical equipment.
• Make a getaway kit that includes a list of friends or family members you could stay with; include driving directions and regional maps.
• Look up the closest emergency shelters by contacting your local American Red Cross chapter. Visit the shelter and, if your closest shelter is not accessible, identify who you can speak to have the shelter moved. Identify accessible transportation options in your community.
• If you use a power wheelchair, make sure you have a back-up manual wheelchair in case you are not able to charge the battery.

Here are tips to share with those assisting you to safety.

Proper body mechanics

• Keep your hips under your shoulders.
• Use your legs to lift, not your back or arms.
• Keep the object close to your center of mass, which is close to your belly button.
• Don’t twist, keep your feet and hips turned in direction that you are moving, or shift weight from one leg to another.
• Adjust the height of the bed or put one knee on the bed to allow you to get closer to the person and keep your hips under your shoulders.

Sheet over toes

• On the floor, brings knees to chest, fold sheet over toes and knees, criss-cross the sheet, and tuck the ends of the sheet behind each knee.
• Perform this carry with 2 strong people along each side or positioned at the corners.
• Be sure to communicate, use proper body mechanics, and all lift straight up at the same time.
• If you are evacuating a person with a higher level of tetraplegia, make sure the sheet is high enough to support the neck and head as you go down the stairs or ramp.

Two-person lift

• Performed with the stronger person at the trunk and one person scooping the legs from the side for more control descending the stairs or ramp.
• Be sure to communicate, use proper body mechanics, and both lift straight up at the same time.
• Remind the individual being evacuated to bear down with their arms to prevent injuring the shoulders.

Sheet drag

• If you find yourself at home with only one other person the best option is to get on the floor onto a sheet or blanket and have someone drag you out to safety.

Options for getting someone out of the bed with one caregiver

• Turn the mattress sideways and have it act as a slide to lower the person to the floor.
• Swing legs off the side of the bed first and then lower torso and head to the floor.
• Use the sheet to lower the person to the floor.

Getting someone out of a power wheelchair with one caregiver

• Remove chest strap and seat belt.
• Flip up footplate or remove leg rests.
• Lower person to the side down to the floor by holding onto torso.

Cognitive considerations

• Recognize that you may have slower reaction time to respond to a dangerous situation.
• Cognitive deficits can make it difficult to notice and react to uncommon stimuli, such as the ability to immediately recognize smoke or that the smell of smoke indicates danger.
• Post the evacuation plan in your room in order to remember the steps in an emergency.

Be prepared

Consult emergency preparedness resources before you need them. Here are a few online resources to help get you started:

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): This federal government agency provides a step-by-step approach to disaster preparedness, including how to get informed about local emergency plans, how to identify hazards that affect their local area, and how to develop and maintain an emergency communications plan and disaster supplies kit.
  • Basic disaster supply kit
  • Planning guides
  • Hurricane preparedness
  • Individual disaster assistance
  • Planning an evacuation route (PDF)
  • Ready.gov
  • U.S. Fire Administration
  • Smoke alarms
  • Fire safety in high-rise residences (PDF)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Emergency preparedness and disability inclusion
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • Prepare for and handle power outages
• ADA Coordinator’s Office, State of Georgia
  • Emergency preparedness
• National Fire Protection Association
  • Tip sheet on home safety for people with disabilities
• American Red Cross
  • Disaster safety for people with disabilities
  • First aid and CPR classes
  • Disaster assistance
•  Smart911.com
  • Personal safety profile
• CTIA
  • Wireless emergency alerts