Tips for People with a Mobility Impairment

This fact sheet is designed to provide a checklist of activities for people with disabilities to improve their emergency preparedness readiness.

Preparation may seem like a lot of work. It is. Preparing does take time and effort. So do a little at a time, as your energy and budget permit. The important thing is to start preparing. The more you do, the more confident you will be that you can protect yourself, your family and your belongings.

Storage

• Store emergency supplies in a pack or backpack attached to walker, wheelchair, scooter, etc.
• Store needed mobility aids (canes, crutches, walkers, wheelchairs) close to you in a consistent, convenient and secured location. Keep extra aids in several locations, if available.

Emergency Kit

• Keep a pair of heavy gloves in your supply kit to use while wheeling or making your way over glass and debris.
• If you use a motorized wheelchair/scooter, consider having an extra battery available. A car battery can be substituted for a wheelchair battery but this type of battery will not last as long as a wheelchair's deep-cycle battery. Check with your vendor to see if you will be able to charge batteries by either connecting jumper cables to a vehicle battery or by connecting batteries to a specific type of converter that plugs into your vehicle's cigarette lighter in the event of loss of electricity.
• If you do not have puncture proof tires, keep a patch kit or can of "seal-in-air product" to repair flat tires and/or also keep an extra supply of inner tubes.
• Store a lightweight manual wheelchair, if available.

Evacuation Plan

• Arrange and secure furniture and other items to provide paths of travel and barrier free passages.
• If you spend time above the first floor of an elevator building, plan and practice using alternate methods of evacuation. If needed, enlist the help of your personal support network.
• If you cannot use stairs, discuss lifting and carrying techniques that will work for you. There will be instances where wheelchair users will have to leave their chairs behind in order to safely evacuate a structure.
• Sometimes transporting someone downstairs is not a practical solution unless there are at least two or more strong people to control the chair. Therefore, it is very important to discuss the safest way to transport you if you need to be carried, and alert them to any areas of vulnerability.
• For example: the traditional "fire fighter's carry" may be hazardous for some people with some respiratory weakness. You need to be able to give brief instructions regarding how to move you.

For more information visit the Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco and the American Red Cross.