Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide For People with Disabilities

Visual Devices for the Fire Alarm System

People who are deaf or hard of hearing cannot hear alarms and voice announcements that warn of danger and the need to evacuate. Many codes require new buildings to have flashing strobe lights (visual devices) as part of the standard building alarm system, but because the requirements are not retroactive many buildings don’t have them. In addition, strobes are required only on fire alarm systems and simply warn that there may be a fire. Additional information that is provided over voice systems for a specific type of emergency such as a threatening weather event, or that directs people to use a specific exit, are unavailable to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

It is extremely important for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to know what, if any, visual notification systems are in place. They also need to be aware of which emergencies will activate the visual notification system and which emergencies will not. Alternative methods of notification need to be put into the emergency evacuation plans for people who are deaf or hard of hearing so they can get all the information they need to evacuate in a timely manner.