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We had a false alarm go off in the building where I work last week. The elevators automatically shut down forcing the use of the fire escapes. The building is 22 floors. I was lucky in that I’d just taken the elevator to the first floor to step outside on a break. When they finally let us back in, I wondered what someone with mobility issues is expected to do had the building been on fire. Just die? Have a kind soul carry them? With most people wfh at least a couple of days per week, this seems really dangerous for anyone who might get stranded.

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[-] zeekaran@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 months ago

At my office each stairwell has a riding chair at the top. It's only three stories though.

[-] shinigamiookamiryuu@lemm.ee 1 points 3 months ago

I don't know, but my boss promised me that if there was a fire, she'd carry me down the stairs.

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[-] electric@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

What a depressing thread. Fuck people who can't walk I guess.

[-] tyler@programming.dev 2 points 3 months ago

We required (pretty sure it was fire code) designated people to carry immobile people down the stairs.

[-] electric@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Is it like security or just random employees? I wonder if they require people to stay in shape, otherwise they might find themselves unable in an emergency.

[-] tyler@programming.dev 2 points 3 months ago

just a random employee. We could volunteer. And we had drills all the time.

[-] AlexWIWA@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

One solution my friend and I came up with is a cardboard box, lay on it, drag them down the stairs. You drag them head first, on their back, and laying straight. It's painful, but they'll live. The idea is to sort of glide down the steps. We tried it out and it worked, but it hurt.

[-] electric@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago
[-] sanguinepar@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

I was wondering the same. Best guess I could come up with was that it meant the people assisting the person on the cardboard would be able to hold them by the feet and, standing on the higher steps, gradually slide them down in a controlled manner. Just a guess though.

[-] AlexWIWA@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 months ago

It was more to do with shoulders having a more gradual curve than heels and cheeks. We didn't try it with a box, but speculate that the box would make this less of an issue. The box idea came from sliding down the stairs as a kid

[-] AlexWIWA@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 months ago

Depends on how much cake you have I guess. Our cheeks and heels kept catching steps and there wasn't enough rigidity. Going head first seemed to glide down the stair more easily.

We didn't try with a box though, so maybe adding the box would enable feet first

[-] electric@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Oh that's a very good point.

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[-] NaoPb@eviltoast.org 1 points 3 months ago

I've seen contraptions to carry people down stairs. These were meant to be carried by two able people.

Or two able people might just have to carry a disabled person down the stairs without a contraption.

I hope I'm remembering this right. Sounds humiliating but also problematic if people aren't trained to do this and/or leave the building without knowing or caring.

[-] vrek@programming.dev 0 points 3 months ago

Similar question I've wondered about... If you truly need one of those powered rideable shopping carts how do you get from your car to the cart and how do you return the cart?

[-] helpImTrappedOnline@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Some of those people might be able to walk for short periods of time. From the handicap spot, its at most 2 minutes to the cart. Maybe after 5 minutes of walking, they could be anogonizing pain. So they ride around do shopping and just have to suffer through a short walk to/from the cart.

If they completely can't walk, I guess they have to get someone to bring them the cart. Depending on the disability, you may still be able to drive, but not walk. Could be modified controls for the car or something.

Maybe you can move your legs just fine but standing on them is a problem (it's hard to push a cart and use a cane or walker)

Maybe they can walk just fine, but can't push the weight of a full cart, so they ride.

And finally, there just the lazy ones that don't really need them.

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this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2024
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