Evacuating Others
In the event of an evacuation, assisting others can greatly improve outcomes. Here are some tips to assist those with visual disabilities, hearing impairments, and mobility impairments.
Assisting Persons With Visual Impairments
Explain the nature of the emergency. Alarms or confusion may disorient a person, even when normally familiar with the area.
Guide the student (or provide someone to do so). Students will take the guide's arm below the elbow and will follow. Tell the student where you are as you walk. Advise of any obstacles in the path.
When you have reached safety, orient the person to where he or she is and ask if any further assistance is needed before leaving.
Assisting Persons With Hearing Impairments
Get the person's attention by flashing room lights, waving your arms, or tapping the person's shoulder. When you would like to explain what to do, gesture what is happening or write on paper or whiteboards.
Assisting Persons With Mobility Impairments
First, ask the person if they have special mobility needs or requirements. Persons using wheelchairs can be pushed or accompanied to safety. Persons using canes, crutches, or walkers can evacuate themselves or be accompanied to safety.
When encountering stairwells or when a rapid evacuation is required, persons using assistive mobility devices may need to be maneuvered differently. Unless the situation is imminently life threatening, first call College Safety or other trained college staff and wait for help before transferring persons. Wheelchairs for emergency use are located in PE 13 and the Student Health Center. Special evacuation chairs may be used for stairway evacuation or to transport injured or non-ambulatory persons.
Special evacuation chairs are wall-mounted near the following stairwells:
- Library: 2nd floor at the main stairwell
- Language Arts: 2nd floor between the restrooms
- Humanities: 2nd floor at the east stairwell
- Speech Arts & Music: Top floor in the middle of the main hallway on the west wall
- Math & Science: 2nd floor in the north hallway next to MS 107
- Industrial Technology: 2nd floor next to the elevator
- Learning Center (CSS Building): 2nd floor at the north stairwell
- College Safety Office: Inside the inventory room
- Gymnasium: 2nd floor in the northwest stairwell
Contact College Safety
Phone: (661) 395-4554 | Email: collegesafety@bakersfieldcollege.edu | Location: Administrative Services Building (AS)
