I don't know why, or how I noticed it, but as we were being pushed a "safe distance" away from the building, I looked around and saw an absence of handicapped students. On a regular basis, I see 3 familiar faces in wheelchairs, and even more that require the use of walkers and personal aids. I also frequently see 2 blind men on campus. Im sure there are many, many more, but these are just the ones I see for the brief 2 hours I am on campus 4 days a week.
When we reentered the classroom, this horrifying discussion took place.
Me: What happens if a student in a wheel chair is on the second or third floor during a fire?After hearing this, I couldn't pay attention for the rest of the class. & Its been on my mind for a week now. Usually when I hear something that really rattles me to the core, I get super upset about it, and then I let it slowly escape from my mind. But for some reason, this is really sticking with me. I feel like I need to do something to fix it. So, in the past week, I have read the full 30 page fire plan for South Alabama, read the entire 'services for disabled students' web page & researched other universities fire plans. & I don't have any answers but I do have some ideas and some facts I want to share.
Dr. D: You dont want to know the plan for disabled students.
Me: ... Okay?
Dr. D: The plan is to get everyone else out of the building, and then it becomes the professors responsibility to get the disabled students into the stairwell, and leave them there.
Me/Everyone else: LEAVE THEM? WTF?! This is BULLSHIT.
Dr. D: Well, if it was a real fire, then I would get some of you to assist your fellow classmates out of the building, but I would get in trouble for it and the school would probably get fined.
Facts about the fire plan:
1. South Alabama's fire plan is to evacuated all* students, faculty & staff to at least 500 feet from the building. The exception to this rule is if you have a disability. Then the plan is to leave them in the stairwell until "help" can arrive.
2. It is suggested that blind people carry a whistle at all times & blow the whistle to acquire help. Deaf students should be notified to "calmly evacuate". The only instructions given to non-ambulatory students is to "not block the stairwell" and move to a place of refuge, and "call for help until help arrives"
3. The only responsibility placed on other students, faculty and staff is to notify the police/firemen that someone is trapped inside.
Facts about Disabled Student Services:
1. The rights of a disabled student at South Alabama includes "receiving assistance from the Disability Services office in removing any physical, academic, or attitudinal barriers", and "receiving reasonable accommodations that provide provide equal opportunity" among others.
2. A goal of the DSS is to ""be sensitive to the individual personalities of students, whether it be in communicating their needs or an attempt to maintain dignity with a very difficult issue.
Okay, so what does all that mean? It means that even though there is a service at South Alabama dedicated to Disabled Students, that they are still be discriminated against in the worst way. Disabled Student Services is able to provided "extended testing time" for students with ADD/ADHD, but they cant find a way to evacuate non-ambulatory students in a FIRE?! & while the stairwell may be the safest place inside, I am 100% sure that OUTSIDE a burning building is safer than ANYWHERE inside a burning building.
Plus, while firefighters are trained, we are forcing them to put themselves at a much greater risk. & imagine this horrifying scenario. The building is burning, and there are 4 people trapped inside. You have 2 firemen doing a sweep through the building to make sure no one is inside, and they find 4 people. Who do they take first? Who gets the better chance of surviving? Because sure, the firemen can probably get one/two people down 3 flights of stairs. But what about the others? What if it is too dangerous to go back inside? Do you send the firemen again and risk all of their lives? Do you LEAVE students there? I dont know. You tell me. What do you do?
My only idea is to gather support from my fellow students and demand a change be made. My only reasonable idea is to demand that students with physical disabilities have their classes taught on the first floor if requested.
I dont know the answer. I just know a change needs to be made & I would be interested in hearing your ideas if you have any.
Call me crazy; call my naive; hell, call me liberal. But if there is ever a time in your life that you need support, I hope someone will fight for you and stand up for you and your rights.
