Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide For People with Disabilities

Will a Person Who is Blind or Has Low Vision Require Assistance to Use the Circulation Path?

Not all people who are blind or have low vision are capable of navigating a usable circulation path. It is important to verify that a person who is blind or has low vision can travel unassisted through the exit access, the exit, and the exit discharge to a public way. If he or she cannot, then that person’s personal emergency evacuation plan will include a method for providing appropriate assistance.

Generally, only one person is necessary to assist a person who is blind or has low vision. A practical plan is to identify at least two, ideally more, people who are willing and able to provide assistance. Common sense tells us that a specific person may not be available at any given time due to illness, vacation, off-site meetings, and so on. The identification of multiple people who are likely to have different working and traveling schedules provides a much more reliable plan.