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BL15  
#1 Posted : 06 February 2013 15:34:28(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
BL15

Dear safety bods (that includes me!)

An interesting situation has come up where I work and I am after some advice from my fellow safety professionals....

We are about to employ a profoundly deaf cleaner (she will not be able to hear the alarm) who will be required to clean a boarding house of 96 rooms, plus common areas. She may also have to go into other buildings all of which have separate fire alarm systems, some of which are quite old.

Does anyone have any experience of this and can suggest a solution?

As there are so many rooms it would be impossible to rely on strobe/flashing sounders as they won't be installed in every room so I'm thinking of some sort of paging type device that vibrates when the fire alarm sounds...Does anyone have experience of these and can the vibrating device be connected to several different fire alarms?

Many, many thanks,

BL15

BL15  
#2 Posted : 06 February 2013 15:45:58(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
BL15

Just re-read the thread title and it should read 'Fire' not 'First'....was also thinking about first aid!!!
jontyjohnston  
#3 Posted : 06 February 2013 16:09:32(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
jontyjohnston

BL15 pager is the way to go.

Had the same issue a few years back with severely impaired hearing in a factory. Contacted the company who provided and maintained the fire alarm system who were very helpful, told us what type of devices would work with their system and then installed the software to make it work.

Simple solution.
bilbo  
#4 Posted : 06 February 2013 16:36:48(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
bilbo

As jonty says - pager - you can get them with a vibration mode as well as with flashing beepers - talk to your fire alarm supplier.
DaveDowan  
#5 Posted : 06 February 2013 16:49:13(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
DaveDowan

Hi We use a system called " Deaf Alerter"
Dave
jwk  
#6 Posted : 06 February 2013 16:51:29(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
jwk

And write it all down in a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan, which should include any training she might need, such as in recognising if the device develops a fault and what to do if it does,

John
Andrew Bober  
#7 Posted : 06 February 2013 20:27:12(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Andrew Bober

DaveDowan wrote:
Hi We use a system called " Deaf Alerter"
Dave


We use deaf alters at the college as well. Works well.
Kim Hedges  
#8 Posted : 07 February 2013 00:24:40(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Kim Hedges

Presumably the cleaner has a supervisor, so as a back-up plan, get them to go see the cleaner - as you would as a fire marshal to ensure all the people are out.

Also, because the deaf worker is at a greater risk, perhaps knowing where they are before an incident occurs would also make sense - so either an electronic log (going through checkpoints monitored by security) or a simple written log book.
Darren Low  
#9 Posted : 07 February 2013 08:49:51(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
Darren Low

Can you still get pagers these days, abit 80's.... Pager, Mobile phone (on vibrate of course) or the installation of flashing lights/beacons. As this is a boarding house what controls to you have for any deaf guest?
mootoppers  
#10 Posted : 07 February 2013 16:54:16(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
mootoppers

Hi BL15

Just thinking through Kim's suggestion of an electronic log, if your Houses are anything like our's it's probably not an option, but generally the Matron would have an idea of which area the cleaner covers, or if the entire House, they have set orders of areas which they clean and therefore you could have a basic timetable for her - i.e. 8am common room, 8.30am 3rd form dorm etc. Realistically though the cleaner should be found in a sweep of the building, which is how we rely on guaranteed clearance of the building.
Graham Bullough  
#11 Posted : 07 February 2013 18:47:04(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
Graham Bullough

BL15

As commonly advised on other forum threads about people with medical conditions and disabilities which might affect their safety and capability, it would be worthwhile for you and/or the prospective cleaner's line manager/supervisor to arrange to have a chat with her if this hasn't already been done.

Among other things you may find out what arrangements, if any, were made for her by any previous employers and whether she found them to be effective or not. You'll also find out if she lip-reads and/or uses sign language. In addition, although you understand her to be profoundly deaf, (i.e. no hearing at all), it's possible that she might have a cochlear implant and that this enables her to hear some sounds especially loud ones such as fire alarms.

Another point: If the cleaner is provided with an effective warning device which is activated by the sounding of the fire alarm wherever she is within the building, this surely deals with the greater risk she might otherwise face from fire because of her deafness. If so, introducing an electronic or manual log system specifically for her, as suggested by Kim at #8, could be considered excessive.

Also, though she might have negligible or no hearing, her faculties of sight, smell and touch may be fine and therefore of use to her in the event of a fire occurring.

My mention of smell above reflects the fact that quite a number of fires are initially identified by people who notice an unusual smell which could be smoke or something burning. I've experienced it myself late one afternoon in a large hotel in Eastern Europe during the 1980s. A fire broke out in one of the bedrooms allegedly because its occupant had fallen asleep while smoking. As the hotel had no internal fire doors, the first inkling that I and some others on the upper floors had about the fire was a smell akin to that of burnt toast coming from somewhere. Somewhat surprisingly the hotel did not have a conventional fire alarm system, so its guests and visitors were alerted (more likely confused) by various members of staff running about shouting and banging on bedroom doors! :-(
hopeful  
#12 Posted : 08 February 2013 11:36:55(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
hopeful

It will also be worth speaking to her as she may have a pager or similar that reacts to alarms etc. I know a number of years ago someone I knew had such equipment already and was happy to utilise this when at work. It is also better to discuss the solutions with her before implementing as you will get her buy in quicker to use equipment etc and know that it is right for her.
Cerith  
#13 Posted : 08 February 2013 16:06:21(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Cerith

Reply to post no7
"We use deaf alters at the college as well. Works well."

Is that for silent praying then?

Come on, it is Friday...
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