NIST Technical Note 1824

Guidance on Fire Emergency 

Procedures for Emergency Stair 

Travel Devices

Erica D. Kuligowski
NIST Technical Note 1824

Guidance on Fire Emergency 

Procedures for Emergency Stair 

Travel Devices

Erica D. Kuligowski

Fire Research Division

Engineering Laboratory

November 2013

U.S. Department of Commerce 

Penny Pritzker, Secretary

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

Patrick D. Gallagher, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director 
Certain commercial entities, equipment, or materials may be identified in this

document in order to describe an experimental procedure or concept adequately.

Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the

National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the

entities, materials, or equipment are necessarily the best available for the purpose. 

National Institute of Standards and Technology Technical Note 1824

Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. Tech. Note 1824, 22 pages (November 2013) 

CODEN: NTNOEF
iii

Abstract

This document provides specific detailed guidance and recommendations on the use of 

emergency stair travel devices for evacuation of persons with mobility impairments during fire 

emergencies in buildings. The people who would find this document useful are those who 

develop fire evacuation plans for building occupants (i.e., building owners, building managers, 

fire protection engineers, fire marshals, etc.), since they may be considering the use of 

emergency stair travel devices for evacuation of people with mobility impairments in their 

buildings. 

There are seven main topics covered by this guidance document, and these are listed here: 

1) Identifying the types of emergency stair travel devices available on the market 

2) Deciding whether emergency stair travel devices offer appropriate evacuation solutions 

for your building

3) Selecting the number and type of emergency stair travel devices

4) Locating emergency stair travel devices throughout the building

5) Operating emergency stair travel devices during a fire emergency

6) Training on the use of emergency stair travel devices

7) Maintaining emergency stair travel devices

Keywords: Disabled, egress, evacuation, fire safety, human behavior, mobility impairments

v

Table of Contents

Abstract..........................................................................................................................................iii

Table of Contents............................................................................................................................ v

1 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 1

2 Types of emergency stair travel devices available on the market .......................................... 2

3 Deciding whether emergency stair travel devices offer appropriate evacuation solutions for 

your building................................................................................................................................... 2

3.1 Who are the stakeholders and what do they think?.......................................................... 3

3.2 Can your building and stair configuration accommodate the appropriate use of 

emergency stair travel devices for evacuation? .......................................................................... 3

4 Selecting the emergency stair travel device number and type................................................ 3

4.1 The number of people who require emergency stair travel devices:................................ 4

4.2 The type of emergency stair travel device required ......................................................... 6

5 Emergency stair travel device location................................................................................... 7

6 Emergency stair travel device operation................................................................................. 8

6.1 Transfer of the individual into the device ........................................................................ 8

6.2 Location of the transfer of the individual into the device ................................................ 9

6.3 Who will assist? ............................................................................................................... 9

6.4 The number of operators (for track/belt type devices)................................................... 11

6.5 Travel on horizontal building components..................................................................... 11

6.6 Travel during building evacuation ................................................................................. 12

6.7 Travel after evacuation................................................................................................... 12

7 Emergency stair travel device training ................................................................................. 13

8 Emergency stair travel device maintenance.......................................................................... 14

9 Conclusions........................................................................................................................... 14

References..................................................................................................................................... 15
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1

1 Introduction

In all General Services Administration (GSA) buildings, exit stairways are provided as the main 

method of evacuation during fires. However, stairways do not offer equal opportunity to reach 

safety for all building occupants. For example, people with mobility impairments (e.g., persons 

with arthritis, persons needing assistance, persons using wheelchairs, etc.) may experience severe 

difficulty in negotiating the stairways during an evacuation, including not being able to traverse 

the stairways at all (with the only option available to wait in place in a safe area on the floor). 

Therefore, and especially since the tragic loss of life in the 2001 World Trade Center attacks, 

engineering efforts have refocused on efficient evacuation procedures, especially for occupants 

who cannot negotiate the stairs without assistance. 

The General Services Administration’s general approach in the construction of new facilities and 

projects in existing buildings is to incorporate cost-effective fire protection and life safety 

systems and procedures that result in overall building safety that meets or exceeds the levels 

required by local building codes. Based on previous GSA/NIST research and the efforts of the 

ASME A17.1/CSA B44 Task Groups on Elevators and Fire, new provisions have recently 

appeared in the International Building Code (2012) and the National Fire Protection Association 

(2012), which permit the use of passenger elevators in buildings for occupant evacuation. The 

use of these elevators by building occupants can improve the overall evacuation time compared 

with the use of exit stairs only, in addition to improving the evacuation capability for persons 

with mobility impairments. 

Another system that can be used to improve the evacuation capability for persons with mobility 

impairments is emergency stair travel devices. Emergency stair travel devices, based on the 

definition provided by the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of 

North American (RESNA) standard, are the following: devices “whose primary purpose is the 

travel of partial or fully immobile individuals over stair and horizontal surfaces during building 

evacuations” (RESNA 2013). Similarly, a standard was recently developed that provides 

requirements on the design and testing of emergency stair travel devices. However, in both cases, 

very little research or efforts have been performed that result in the development of guidance and 

recommendations for standardized and data-driven procedures to safely evacuate persons with 

mobility impairments from tall buildings using these systems.

Therefore, the purpose of this document is to provide specific detailed guidance and 

recommendations on the use of emergency stair travel devices for evacuation of persons with 

mobility impairments during fire emergencies in buildings. The people who would find this 

document useful are those who develop fire evacuation plans for building occupants (i.e., 

building owners, building managers, fire protection engineers, fire marshals, etc.), since they 

may be considering the use of emergency stair travel devices for evacuation of people with 

mobility impairments in their buildings. 

There are seven main topics covered by this guidance document. First, this document will briefly 

outline the three main types of emergency stair travel devices available on the market. Then, the 

document will focus primarily on one type (i.e., the type upon which the RESNA standard also 
2

focuses). Second, the document will present the factors to consider when deciding whether 

emergency stair travel devices are appropriate evacuation solutions for a building. Third, the 

document outlines the factors to consider when selecting the number and type of emergency stair 

travel device for a building. Fourth, the document identifies the factors to consider when locating 

the emergency stair travel devices inside the building. Fifth, the document discusses the 

operation of the devices (on and off the stairways). Sixth, the document identifies guidance on 

training. Finally, the document ends with a brief discussion on emergency stair travel device 

maintenance. 

2 Types of emergency stair travel devices available on the market 

There are a range of devices that can be used for emergency evacuation, including wheelchairs 

that descend and ascend stairs, platforms and chairs installed on the staircase, wheelchair carriers 

that transport the individual while occupying a wheelchair, and evacuation chairs (or stair 

travel/descent devices) used during emergencies (Hedman 2009; 2010). A recent survey of 

commercially-available devices found a total of 34 emergency stair travel devices produced by 

12 manufacturers around the world. The 34 devices fall into one of the three design categories:

a) Devices which use a track or belt system which contacts the stair nosings (14 devices). 

The weight of these type of devices ranges from 10 kg to 20.7 kg (22 lb to 46 lb). The 

maximum user weight of the device ranges from 130 kg to 228 kg (287 lb to 500 lb), with 

most devices rated for 150 kg (330 lb). The range of overall width of these devices is 

from 42.6 cm to 58.4 cm (16.8 in to 23 in).

b) Devices which are supported or carried by one or more persons, and either roll along the 

stair riser and tread, or are carried (19 devices).

c) Devices which comes in contact with the stairs, but use other designs (e.g., sled type) 

(one device) 

This guidance document focuses only on the devices which use a track or belt system, since the 

focus of the RESNA standard (2013) entitled “RESNA ED-1 Evacuation Devices Volume 1: 

Emergency Stair Travel Devices for Individuals with Disabilities” is on the performance of 

Track-Type, controlled-descent, manual-ascent emergency stair travel devices.

3 Deciding whether emergency stair travel devices offer 

appropriate evacuation solutions for your building

This section focuses on the factors to consider when deciding whether emergency stair travel

devices are appropriate for your building. An understanding of the stakeholders and their 

perspective on emergency stair travel devices, the building’s current evacuation strategy for 

persons unable to negotiate the stairs, and the building’s stair configuration (and any limitations 

this configuration might provide for the use of these devices) are important in this decision.
3

3.1 Who are the stakeholders and what do they think? 

First, it is important to understand who are the stakeholders involved in this decision and what 

are their perspectives on the device. Stakeholders can include, but are not limited to, the building 

manager or owner, designated officials responsible for developing the building fire safety and 

evacuation plans, fire protection engineer or fire marshal, local fire department personnel, 

building occupants or visitors who will use the emergency stair travel device, and skilled/trained 

personnel who will be guiding the device down the stairs (which, in some cases, may be fire 

department personnel). In some buildings, for example, a local fire department or fire marshal 

may not endorse the use of emergency stair travel devices for evacuation of building occupants. 

Additionally, the mobility impaired occupants in your building may not feel comfortable using 

these types of devices for evacuation. In either one of these cases, the use of emergency stair 

travel devices may not even be an option for consideration. Therefore, all stakeholders need to 

be involved in the decision-making process, especially those who will be in charge of operation 

and those who will be using the devices. 

3.2 Can your building and stair configuration accommodate the appropriate 

use of emergency stair travel devices for evacuation?

The next question asks whether your building can accommodate the use of an emergency stair 

travel device. As mentioned in Section 1, the overall widths of emergency stair travel devices 

currently on the market range from 42.6 cm to 58.4 cm (16.8 in to 23 in). The designated official 

in charge of developing the building’s fire safety and evacuation plan should obtain information 

on the width and turning radius of these types of devices and ensure that the stair(s) and exit 

corridors (if applicable) in which these would be used allow for effective and safe movement of 

the device. Identify which devices, if any, meet the width and turning radius requirements of 

your building’s exit pathways configuration. If none of the devices on the market meet your 

building’s width and turning radius requirements, then it is unlikely that the use of emergency 

stair travel devices will offer an appropriate evacuation solution for your building and its 

occupants. If some (or all) devices on the market meet your building’s width and turning radius 

requirement, make a list of these devices (to be used later in this guidance document).

4 Selecting the emergency stair travel device number and type

If stakeholders are in agreement that emergency stair travel devices offer a possible evacuation 

solution and your building can accommodate the use of such devices, then the next set of 

decisions involves selection of emergency stair travel devices for your building. The steps in this 

section outline how to select the number and type of emergency stair travel devices for a 

building. 
4

4.1 The number of people who require emergency stair travel devices:

Step 1: What is meant by disabled? The first step is to define what is meant by “disabled” in your 

building. In reference to the use of emergency stair travel devices, disabled could mean those 

who are mobility-impaired, or individuals who are unable to negotiate the stairs without 

assistance from people or devices. This group can also consist of individuals who do not feel 

comfortable navigating the stairs without assistance (e.g., persons with arthritis, persons with 

temporary mobility injuries, such as a broken leg, etc.). 

Note: ‘What is a disability’ is covered in the following document: (United States Fire 

Administration document 1999)

Step 2: Who is disabled in your building, and are they in need of assistance? It is possible that in 

your building, people with mobility disabilities have self-identified. If so, you already have a list 

of these individuals. If building occupants have self-identified as disabled or in need of 

assistance, review the nature of their current disabilities with them, if they are willing to share. 

This will help you understand if they are in need of assistance during evacuation, and in turn, 

may wish to use an emergency stair travel device for evacuation. 

If the occupants in your building do not self-identify, one option might be to speak with 

management (throughout the building) about their staff. Management can let you know about 

their employees with whom you may need to speak with about emergency stair travel devices. 

Another option is to send out a building-wide email asking for individuals to self-identify as ‘in 

need of assistance during an evacuation’ – i.e., the email can explain that the building is 

considering purchasing new emergency stair travel devices, provide a description of the device 

and its purpose, and ask people to please identify themselves as someone who would be willing 

to use an emergency stair travel device in emergencies. Let them know that self-identification is 

voluntary, and their information will be kept confidential and shared only with those who have 

responsibility in emergency response (Kailes 2002).

Another option is to send out a checklist to building occupants. As an example, a checklist is 

available for people unable to negotiate the stairs, entitled: “Will You Need Assistance in an 

Emergency Evacuation?” With this checklist, again, let them know that self-identification is 

voluntary, and their information will be kept confidential and shared only with those who have 

responsibility in emergency response (Kailes 2002).

The next step to consider is to estimate the number of disabled visitors to you building. If your 

building is restricted from having visitors, this is not an issue. For buildings with visitor access, 

there are ways to estimate numbers of expected visitors with disabilities. For example, if all 

visitors must register ahead of time before entering your building, your building may already (or 

may wish to) ask about disability needs upon registration (as long as these questions adhere to 

ADA or equivalent confidentiality requirements). Another option is to estimate the percentage of 

mobility impaired individuals that may be stationed in your building on any given day, based 

upon U.S. population (U.S. Census 2011; Social Security Administration, Accessed 2012) and/or 

U.S. disability statistics. For example, the Disability Statistics website 

(www.disabilitystatistics.org) provides statistics on the prevalence of non-institutionalized 
5

disabled individuals based upon the following factors: gender, age, races, ethnicity, education, 

and disability type in any given year (from 2008-2011). According to this website, 6.9 % of the 

U.S. population (independent of gender, age, race, ethnicity, education) reported an ambulatory 

disability in 2011. The statistics can also be filtered and estimated for each state in the United 

States. 

Step 3: Where are individuals with disabilities located (or where will they be located) in your 

building? The next step involves identifying the floors on which people with disabilities work or 

visit in your building. If these individuals (both building occupants and visitors) will only access 

the ground floor of the building, then they will likely not require an emergency stair travel device 

(unless the ground floor is not located on the same level as the outdoor designated evacuation 

assembly area).

Step 4: Identify the mobility-impaired individuals (occupants and visitors, if possible) who are 

(or will be) located on floors higher than the ground floor. In this case, the ground floor refers to 

the floor located on the same level as the outdoor evacuation area. This helps you understand the 

number of people with disabilities you will need to protect in your building.

Step 5: Of those individuals identified in Step 4, inquire about how many people are unwilling to 

use an emergency stair travel device in your building for use during fire emergencies. It is 

possible that there are individuals who are not comfortable with the idea of evacuating via an

emergency stair travel device. Individuals using these types of devices are completely reliant 

upon other individuals for the operation of the device, which could be a difficult and fearprovoking task. Be sure to discuss this evacuation strategy with all disabled persons to first 

understand if they are willing to use this type of device for vertical descent.

Step 6: Of those individuals identified in Step 4, inquire about how many people are unable to 

use an emergency stair travel device in your building for use during fire emergencies. There 

could be instances where the individuals’ mobility disabilities are too severe or incongruent with 

the use of an emergency stair travel device. For example, individuals who use a special type of 

motorized wheelchair and cannot be removed from the chair for any period of time, or those with 

suspected spinal injuries, may be unable to use an emergency stair travel device for evacuation 

during fire emergencies.

Step 7: Add the numbers obtained from Step 4, and subtract any individuals identified in Steps 5 

and 6, to obtain the number of individuals willing and able to use emergency stair travel devices 

in your building (both building occupants and potential visitors). 

Step 7 provides the number of emergency stair travel devices needed in your building, if each 

disabled occupant or visitor is to have one device assigned to them for use during evacuation.

This method will ensure that each disabled individual has his/her own emergency stair travel

device. This is the most conservative method to provide evacuation safety (via emergency stair 

travel devices) to all disabled occupants in (or expected in) your building.

However, there are possibilities for reducing the number of devices in your building. These 

possibilities are the following:
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1) Devices may be reduced if the fire department will also arrive with additional devices to 

be used during evacuation (note: it is important to find out how many devices they will 

bring); and if the fire department is close enough that they will arrive to the building 

during the timing necessary to evacuate the building. In other words, it is not acceptable 

to have the occupant with mobility impairments waiting a significant amount of time –

especially if all others have evacuated – before they can start their evacuation [unless this 

is part of the accepted fire safety and evacuation plan for the building].

2) If the building is fully sprinklered and the fire department is required to evacuate all 

occupants with mobility impairments, then, there is the possibility of locating one device 

per each pair (2) of expected emergency responders whose official duty would be to 

perform rescue functions for the building1

. 

Example: a fire occurs in a 20 story high-rise structure in New York City, NY. Assume that 

initially 10 firefighters are assigned to perform evacuation assistance. Therefore, five devices (or 

10 firefighters divided by two operators each) should be distributed throughout the 20-story 

high-rise structure. 

NOTE – if emergency stair travel devices are to be reused, there must be a chair, wheelchair, or 

other type of device made available for occupants with mobility impairments to transfer to once 

they reach the safe location area.

4.2 The type of emergency stair travel device required

Step 8: Of those occupants (and potential visitors) identified in Step 7, match each person’s 

physical/medical requirements, needs, and concerns during evacuation with the capabilities of 

the current, available emergency stair travel devices (if possible). Since the devices differ from 

one manufacturer to another, even within the stair device type (i.e., within the track/belt devices), 

it is important to examine each device’s capabilities and features and whether they match the 

needs of the individuals who will use them. For example, an individual may require that his/her 

legs are strapped into the emergency stair travel device during evacuation. Does the specific 

device contain these leg straps? Additionally, an individual may require physically sitting at a 

certain angle at all times. Does the device maintain the necessary seat angle to accommodate this 

need?

Step 9: Identify those emergency stair travel devices (by manufacturer and manufacturer type) 

that meet all physical/medical requirements, needs and concerns of the users identified in Step 7.

Step 10: Check to make sure that the devices identified in Step 9 meet the width and turning 

radius requirements discussed in Section 3.2 of this guidance document. 

Step 11: Determine the costs associated with each device that meets Steps 8 and 9 requirements, 

taking into account the number of devices needed for your building. Be sure to include other 

 1 See Section 6.4 for the explanation of the requirement for at least two operators of any stair descent device.
7

additional costs in your budget estimate, including installation of the devices, maintenance, and 

safety training.

Step 12: Choose a specific device to be ordered for your building based upon requirements and 

cost. 

5 Emergency stair travel device location

If a device is provided for each building occupant with mobility impairments: If a device is 

provided for each occupant with mobility impairments, then the device assigned to each person 

should be located on that individual’s floor within the building. The device(s) should be located 

in areas of the building which can serve as temporary staging areas (or areas of refuge), i.e., 

areas that provides relative safety to occupants from the spread of smoke/toxic products from the 

fire event. An area of refuge could be a compartment of a subdivided floor, an enclosed elevator 

lobby, an enlarged floor-level stair landing, or a floor in a building protected throughout by a 

supervised automatic sprinkler system (based on the requirements in NFPA 101, Life Safety 

Code and the ICC International Building Code). In instances where the entire floor is considered 

an area of refuge, the stakeholders must decide the best location for the device. No matter where 

the device is located, an analysis must be performed to ensure that the device location area 

provides sufficient space to set up the emergency stair travel device as well as transfer the 

disabled individual into the device. The analysis can include a comparison of the dimensions of 

the determined location area with the dimensions of the maximum device use area (including 

device set-up and transfer). Obtaining the dimensions of the maximum device use area can be 

obtained through practice with the device and its users. 

Stakeholders may consider locating the emergency stair travel devices inside the stairways – e.g., 

on the main landing of the stairways. However, during evacuation, it is likely that other evacuees 

will be using the landing spaces inside the stairway for travel to safety. If the stair main landing 

is chosen as the device location area, the building’s safety official must be aware that an area 

[two times the stair width] long and [the stair width] wide (or smaller) may be insufficient to 

sustain the placement/ mounting of an emergency stair travel device – since space is required for 

the set-up of the device and the transfer of the individual into the device before evacuation can 

begin, in addition to simultaneous evacuation of other occupants inside the stairway.

If devices are provided for visitors: If devices are provided for general visitors of the building on 

any given day, the best location for the emergency stair travel devices is on the floors where the 

public are most likely to be gathered. For example, in a courthouse, emergency stair travel

devices for visitors should be located on floors with courtrooms. Another acceptable location for 

emergency stair travel devices for visitors would be the fire command center of the building, if 

no specific “public” area of the building can be defined. 

If devices are provided for fire department operation: If devices are provided for fire department 

operation during evacuation, then the fire department should determine the appropriate location 

for emergency stair travel devices. One option may be the fire command center. Additionally, it 

may be decided that the fire department will arrive to the building with the appropriate number 

of emergency stair travel devices. In that case, the building will not be required to locate these 
8

devices inside the building. It will be essential to discuss these and any other expectations with 

the fire department before an actual emergency occurs.

6 Emergency stair travel device operation 

First it should be noted that the operators should follow all guidance provided by the 

manufacturer on the use of the specific emergency stair travel device. This guidance document is 

not meant to act as a replacement for any of the manufacturer’s guidance documents. Instead, 

this document provides general guidance on evacuation procedures based exclusively on 

expertise derived from studying building evacuations.

Here, the term “operation” involves the following factors related to an emergency stair travel

device: the transfer of the individual with mobility impairments into the emergency stair travel

device, the proper location of transfer, and guidance on the device operators. Guidance on device 

operators includes who should assist/operate the device, the number of operators required for 

safe operation, the movement of the device over different components in the building (i.e., stairs 

versus horizontal components), and the use of these devices during the evacuation time period 

(i.e., when, during the evacuation, is best to introduce emergency stair travel devices in the stair 

flow). Each will be addressed in the following section of this guidance document.

6.1 Transfer of the individual into the device

It is important to speak with all disabled individuals to understand if they require assistance in 

the transfer or if they would prefer to transfer themselves into the emergency stair travel device. 

If assistance is required and requested, the following references provide guidance on appropriate 

lift and transfer procedures (Proulx 2002): 

Schweickert-Stary, M.-T. and Hirschfeld, S. E., 1993, "Evacuate: Evacuation Techniques 

for Disabled and Injured Individuals", Videotape (20 min) and Training Manual, Office 

of Student Life, California State University, Hayward CA, 18 p.

Johnson, B., 1983, "Evacuation Techniques for Disabled Persons: Research Summary 

and Guidelines", National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, 35 p. 

Pauls, J. and Juillet, E., 1988, "Helping Yourself and Others in an Emergency 

Evacuation: A Draft Brochure", in Egress Procedures and Technologies for People with 

Disabilities, United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, 

Washington, DC, 25 p. 

Pauls, J. and Juillet, E., 1988, "Egress Procedures and Technologies for People with 

Disabilities", Prepared for the US Department of Education, Contract 300-87-0149, 

United States Architectural 
9

Additionally, the FEMA document entitled “Emergency Procedures for Employees with 

Disabilities in Office Occupancies” [United States Fire Administration no date; 2002] provides 

advice on carry or transfer procedures. The following excerpt is taken from p. 17 of the FEMA 

guidance document:

If you assist a wheelchair user, avoid putting pressure on the person’s extremities and 

chest. Such pressure might cause spasms, pain and even restrict breathing. Carrying 

someone slung over your shoulders (something like the so called fireman’s carry) is like 

sitting on their chest and poses danger for several individuals who fall within categories 

of neurologic and orthopedic disabilities.” (Page 17)

Kailes [2002] also provides guidance to people with disabilities on how to “master the skill of 

giving quick information on how best to assist you” in an emergency. In emergencies, the 

individual who requires assistance is often the best person to provide critical information on how 

others can assist without causing injury. One example is how to safely transfer the disabled 

occupant into the emergency stair travel device safely and without injury. Therefore, it is 

important to also consult with the individual who is receiving assistance to ensure that his/her 

needs are being met, not only during the transfer, but during the entire evacuation.

6.2 Location of the transfer of the individual into the device

In general, the transfer should take place in areas of the building which provide relative safety to 

occupants from the spread of smoke/toxic products from the fire event. This is especially 

important on floors without automatic sprinkler protection. 

In most cases, it will be appropriate for the disabled individual (with or without the assistant) to 

travel in his/her wheelchair (or with his/her mobility device) to the designated transfer area 

where the transfer will take place, rather than bring the device to the disabled occupant’s original 

location. That way, the transfer can take place in a relatively safe location and the disabled 

individual’s mobility aid can be evacuated along with the occupant, or shortly thereafter. 

Similar to guidance provided in Section 4, “Emergency Stair Travel Device Location”, it is

important to find a transfer location within the building that provides enough space/area to allow 

for the transfer to occur, without negatively influencing the evacuation of others. For this reason, 

stair landings may not necessarily be the best location for occupant transfer.

6.3 Who will assist?

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) (2007), Evacuation Planning for Occupants 

with Disabilities, provides guidance on who should provide assistance to individuals with 

mobility impairments during evacuation. The NFPA guidance on “who” focuses mainly on the 

assistance of individuals with mobility impairments who are able to travel up and down stairs 

easily, but have trouble operating door locks, latches and other devices. However, these 

suggestions are also useful in the identification of people who can help with 1) the transfer of 
10

individuals into an emergency stair travel device and 2) the operation of the device during stair 

evacuation. These “who” suggestions are included here:

• Friends or co-workers; i.e., a relative, supervisor, building staff, or floor warden 

• First responders; i.e., firefighter, police officer, or a member of the emergency 

medical services (emergency medical technicians (EMTs) or ambulance personnel) 

There are three main factors that should be considered when selecting who should provide 

assistance to the individual with mobility impairments: 

• With whom does the person with disabilities feel most comfortable?

• With whom has the person with disabilities trained?

• When will the person with disabilities begin evacuation (i.e., with all others in the 

building or once the fire department arrives)?

If the disabled occupant evacuates with all others in the building, then the “who” is required to 

be an individual already located in the building when the emergency begins (i.e., friends or 

coworkers). In this case, more than one “assistant” should be assigned to each disabled occupant 

in case an assistant is out of the building on the day of the emergency (Proulx 2002). With 

sufficient training, these individuals can aid disabled occupants with the transfer and stair 

descent. Other guidance documents acknowledge the use of floor wardens as individuals who 

can assist people with disabilities during evacuation (United States Fire Administration, no date). 

If possible, assistants should be pre-assigned to each disabled occupant and should provide 

assistance in any emergency situation (i.e., they do not have to ask the individual each time if 

he/she needs assistance – this “buddy” arrangement has already been decided). If the assistant 

permanently leaves the company or building, another assistant (helper or buddy) must be 

assigned immediately.

If the disabled person will be assisted by emergency responders, and if they do not require 

immediate evacuation (i.e., with the rest of the building’s population), then the building must 

develop a procedure by which the emergency responders (i.e., the local fire department) have a 

way to identify the locations of individuals who require assistance. One way to do this is supply 

disabled individuals with two-way communication with the fire command center or a location 

approved by the local fire department. Two-way communication could be in the form of a 

portable radio or a hard-wired device, e.g., provided in the elevator lobby on the same floor as 

the disabled individual. 

The building must also have a plan for how to evacuate persons with mobility impairments who 

are visiting the building on any given day. These individuals will not have a pre-assigned 

“buddy” to aid them during evacuation, and will likely not be aware of the evacuation 

procedures. One way to ensure that there are individuals to assist disabled visitors is to have a 

group of building occupants who are pre-trained in the use of emergency stair travel devices 

during evacuation and who are not specifically assigned to any of the current building occupants. 

These occupants should be located on different floors or with different companies throughout the 

building so that they can be more accessible to visitors in need of their help. With this group in 

place, a disabled visitor present in the building during an emergency can receive the assistance 

with emergency stair travel devices during evacuation. 
11

6.4 The number of operators (for track/belt type devices)

Although one operator is often required by manufacturers to operate the track/belt type 

emergency stair travel devices, stakeholders should consider requiring a minimum of two

individuals to operate the device, in case the primary operator is injured or incapacitated during 

the evacuation. When two operators are used, the primary operator should be located at the headend of the emergency stair travel device2

. The secondary operator could be located at the footend of the device or could walk alongside the device during evacuation3

. 

However, in rare situations there are three reasons listed below as to why a minimum of four

operators should be required to operate an emergency stair travel device:

• If the belt or track device contains a belt or track that is shorter in length and thus engages 

only one of the stair nosings at any time, at least four operators are required. The 

operators would consist of one at the head-end, one at the foot-end, and two back-up 

operators. Note: For most belt or track devices, the belt or track rests along two to three 

of the stair nosings at any time during stair descent, and thus, would not fall into this 

category. 

• If the passenger is heavier than the specified weight limit for the manufacturer’s oneperson operation of the device, the device must be operated by at least four operators. 

The operators would consist of one at the head-end, one at the foot-end, and two back-up 

operators. 

• If the operator wishes to lift the individual and/or use the stair to transport the passenger 

up the stairs, at least four operators are necessary. The operators would consist of one at 

the head-end, one at the foot-end, and two back-up operators. 

6.5 Travel on horizontal building components

When traveling on horizontal components, operators should tip the device so that the disabled 

occupant is sitting in the upright position, e.g., the person’s thighs are parallel to the ground or 

all four wheels are touching the ground. In the upright position, devices can be pushed from the 

back on horizontal or flat surfaces in the building, e.g., landings, corridors on floors, and the exit 

corridor out of the building. For the emergency stair travel devices with wheels, especially those 

with 4 squarely-located wheels, the foot-end operator will not be required during travel on 

horizontal components.

 2 During stair descent, the head-end operator, i.e., the operator facing front or downward on the stairs, pushes the 

device on the stairs or horizontal component during evacuation.

3 The foot-end operator faces the disabled occupant (i.e., the foot-end operator has his/her back to the downward 

direction of the stairs), guiding the chair along.
12

6.6 Travel during building evacuation

This section involves the timing of the use of emergency stair travel devices during the 

building’s evacuation. There are two options here, depending upon the needs of the disabled 

individual and the fire safety and evacuation plans for the building. If the disabled individual is 

to be evacuated via the emergency stair travel device with the rest of the population (i.e., in the 

same stairs), the evacuation plans should account for the fact that the device may cause 

congestion inside the stairways. Building management or fire safety officials can anticipate 

whether or not congestion will occur by understanding the following: the stair configuration 

(including stair width and landing size), the width of the emergency stair travel device (including 

any operators), and the number of operators. With an understanding of these factors, one can 

assess whether the operation of the emergency stair travel device within the building’s stairway 

allows other occupants to pass. 

If passing is not possible, and if one calculates the length of time that each emergency stair travel

device will be located in the stairs, the length of time that congestion points (i.e., points where 

passing is not possible) will occur in the stairwell can be determined. If congestion within the 

exit stairs is anticipated, it may be more prudent to delay the use of the emergency stair travel

devices until the majority of the floor population has evacuated to promote efficient flow of 

occupants within the exit stair during the evacuation. 

In a building where there are multiple individuals who will use emergency stair travel devices, 

the building or fire department may wish to assign one stairway to the evacuation of emergency 

stair travel devices only. In this case, it would be beneficial to choose a stairway, if possible, that 

is most accessible to the individuals with disabilities. This stairway could be used for both 

evacuation of persons with mobility impairments as well as ingress of the operators (with 

devices) to reach additional evacuees. In this case, evacuation calculations should be performed 

to understand the influence of assigning one stair only to disabled evacuees on the overall 

building evacuation time.

6.7 Travel after evacuation

The final operation issue is continued travel or movement of the disabled occupant after 

evacuation is completed. If the building has ordered one emergency stair travel device per 

disabled occupant and the disabled occupant is comfortable for some extended period of time 

without his/her wheelchair or other movement device, then there may be little need to be 

concerned with the issues identified in this section of the guidance document. 

In cases where the emergency stair travel devices are required to be re-used (i.e., they will be 

used to evacuate more than one person), the fire safety and evacuation plan must account for 

ways to provide mobility devices for use by the disabled individual following evacuation 

(National Disability Authority 2012). Extra wheelchairs can be purchased and placed on the first 

floor of the building for the purpose of onward transportation outside of the building. However, 

there may be instances where disabled individuals require their personal mobility devices 

immediately after evacuation is complete. Proulx (2002) states the following: 
13

If a person is being carried down the stairs without his or her wheelchair, it is strongly 

recommended that someone follow carrying the wheelchair. Non-ambulant occupants spend 

most of their time in wheelchairs. They will feel much more comfortable and secure once they 

have reached safety if they can get back into their wheelchair as soon as possible. Without their 

chairs, they lose their autonomy and are completely dependent on others to move around. (p. 13)

One option to relocate the personal mobility devices, i.e., wheelchairs, is requiring an operator 

(or two) to carry the wheelchair down the steps behind, alongside, or in front of the emergency 

stair travel device. If congestion within the exit stairs during the wheelchair carry is anticipated, 

it may be more prudent to delay the use of the emergency stair travel devices until the majority 

of the floor population has evacuated to promote efficient flow of occupants within the exit stair 

during the evacuation. 

7 Emergency stair travel device training

Prior to the use of emergency stair travel devices in an actual building fire emergency, training 

must occur. There are two types of training that should accompany the use of these devices: 

initial training and refresher training. Initial training is the first set of training courses that any 

one person would receive in order to operate or use an emergency stair travel device. Then, once 

an individual receives initial training, refresher training occurs on a regular basis to ensure that 

knowledge and skills are current. Both disabled occupants and any individual who is assigned or 

might be assigned to assist individuals using emergency stair travel devices during evacuation 

must attend both initial and refresher training courses. 

Initial training should consist of both classroom-based and practical elements. The classroombased portion of the training could cover all aspects of the device’s user’s guide and Sections 4 

and 5 of this guidance document. Additionally, disabled occupants and any assistance individuals 

who attend the classroom-based initial training should be provided with personal copies of the 

device’s user’s guide. 

Initial training should also consist of actual practice with the emergency stair travel device(s) 

purchased by the building. Operators of the device should practice setting up the device per the 

instructions included in the user’s guide, transferring an individual into the device (if they will be 

engaged in that behavior), operating the device on horizontal building components, preparing for 

stair travel per the instructions included in the user’s guide, and operating the device on 

stairways (at least three floors so that practice on landings can occur). Operators should practice 

with the disabled person whom they will assist, if willing. Disabled users should also practice 

personal transfer, preparation for stair travel, and actual stair descent (preferably with the 

operator assigned to assist them, if applicable).

Once initial training is received, operators and disabled users should be required to attend the 

practical portion of the original (initial) training course (as outlined above) two times per year. 

This is defined as refresher training.
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8 Emergency stair travel device maintenance

Regular maintenance is crucial to ensure that the emergency stair travel devices will operate 

appropriately and effectively when/if a building fire emergency occurs. Please refer to the 

RESNA ED-1 Evacuation Devices Volume 1: Emergency Stair Travel Devices for Individuals 

with Disabilities (RESNA 2013) for maintenance and inspection requirements. Also, the user’s 

guide for each emergency stair travel device should be consulted for helpful information on 

maintenance. 

9 Conclusions

The guidance provided in this document is meant to aid stakeholders involved in the evacuation 

decision making process to determine whether the use of emergency stair travel devices for 

evacuation of persons unable to negotiate exit stairs would be appropriate and feasible in their 

building. The document begins by providing guidance on the types of emergency stair travel

devices currently available on the market, and then focuses specifically on devices which use a 

track or belt system for evacuation. Therefore, the rest of the document provides guidance on the 

decisions that need to be made involving the use of these specific types of belt/track devices. 

Guidance is also provided on the factors that need to be taken into account prior to deciding on 

whether the use of emergency stair travel devices for evacuation in the building is appropriate. 

Once the decision has been made that the use of these devices is appropriate for your building, 

guidance is provided on selecting the number of type of device for your building, as well as 

where to locate the devices, how to operate them during evacuation, appropriate training 

techniques, and maintenance of the devices. 
15

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