The Difference between Evacuation Chairs and Transit Chairs

Although they may look the same, Evacuation Chairs and Transit Chairs work quite differently. All public premises must take reasonable steps to ensure that everyone in their building can be evacuated safely when an emergency occurs. Evacuation Chairs and Transit Chairs exist to ensure that people who are unable to evacuate themselves are evacuated safely and quickly. We will look at the differences between the two types of chair to help you decide which chair is right for your building.

An Evacuation Chair is regarded as the best option for evacuating a person in an emergency situation. These chairs come with wheels or tracks that enable the chair to be moved down stairs smoothly and easily. With the help of the tracks or wheels, depending on the type of evacuation chair, most Evacuation Chairs can be easily operated by one person. When it is not in use an Evacuation Chair can be safely folded away causing minimal disruption to stairwell access.

The Saver Evacuation Chair is an excellent value chair that comes complete with wall bracket and protective dust cover. It is a cost effective solution to emergency evacuation which will ensure safe transportation of people who are unable to evacuate themselves. This type of evacuation chair is ideal for schools, colleges, universities and other public buildings. The Saver Evacuation Chair is lightweight and comes with an adjustable head pad and strap to keep the occupant secure during evacuation.

A Transit Chair can also be used during and emergency evacuation. The key difference between an Evacuation Chair and a Transit Chair is a Transit Chair does not come with wheels or tracks. A Transit Chair is simply a type of chair which can be easily carried by two or more people. Transit chairs are extremely lightweight and easy to set up for quick deployment in an emergency. This type of chair is small making it versatile and an ideal choice for small stairwells where there is little room for movement.

The Evacuation Transit Chair is extremely popular as it is a good value price as well as being quick and easy to set up. As with all Transit Chairs, this chair requires two or more people to carry the chair and the occupant downstairs and out of a building safely. This is generally done with one person carrying the front of the chair and one person holding the back. Excellent for moving around corners, the Evacuation Transit Chair is ideally suited to smaller buildings and places where there are limited funds to spend on evacuation equipment. This Transit Chair comes with sturdy hooks for wall mounting purposes and a durable protective cover. The Evacuation Transit Chair also comes with a comprehensive training manual.

An extremely cost effective solution to emergency evacuation is an Evacuation Sledge. The Emergency Evacuation Sledge consists of a dual foam construction, with the inner layer of foam ideal for person transportation. The lower level of foam is firm enabling the Evacuation Sledge to ride over various surfaces including carpet, tiles and concrete bumps such as stairs. Although probably not as comfortable as an evacuation chair for the user, the Evacuation Sledge is significantly cheaper and it still provides a method of evacuation covering the relevant Health and Safety legislation.

To view the full range of Evacuation Chairs and Transit Chairs from Health and Care click here.