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The Spinnaker Tower chooses Evac+Chair for safe evacuation
Evac+Chair was chosen as an emergency evacuation solution for The Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, a national icon soaring 170 metres into the sky as a gateway over the English Channel.
The Tower’s public viewing decks 100 metres above the ground are accessed by two lifts. In the event of a fire when lifts cannot be used, a solution had to be in place to evacuate the mobility impaired down the 100 metre staircase to safety to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act and the Regulatory Reform Order.
Nigel Hosier, visitor services manager for the attraction said, “We looked at several evacuation chairs and the Evac+Chair was the best suited to our needs. It is very easy to use which is important for such a long staircase and is highly manoeuvrable in the restricted space. It doesn’t take up too much room when stored for use and training is straight forward.”
The Spinnaker Tower has two Evac+Chairs, one at the top of the stairs for public use and one for staff training purposes. Nigel added, “Fortunately we have not had cause to use the chair yet, but they have performed successfully when used in evacuation practice.”
The Evac+Chair allows one person to transport a mobility-impaired individual on the flat or down stairs quickly and safely without the need for lifting or great physical strength. The smooth, controlled operation of the chair is due to the interface of specially modified V-belts which work continuously to slow down descent over stair nosings in proportion to the weight of the passenger.
As well as manufacturing and supplying the equipment to The Spinnaker Tower, Evac+Chair International also provided a free site survey, a certified operator training programme and a low-cost after sales service contract to ensure that the attraction continues to comply fully with legal requirements for due diligence.
The Evac+Chair is suitable for all leisure applications from hotels, gyms, leisure centres and swimming pools to theme parks and other tourist attractions.