KEY POINT
Know that emergency plans should include provisions for people with special needs.
- The people who work in these facilities also may have special needs. Since 9/11/2001, the special needs of disabled individuals have become an area of focus, stimulated by accounts of people in wheelchairs being trapped and left to die in the World Trade Center towers. Emergency plans that do not take into account the special needs of disabled people can limit the possibilities for their employment and/or retention. Employers may be hesitant to hire people with special needs due to concerns about being able to provide for their safety. Disabled people may be hesitant to seek employment in locations where they could be trapped.
- It is intuitive that if facility managers must plan for the protection of their employees, they must also plan for the protection of their other occupants.