Manufacturer launches first powered evacuation chair
Solihull’s Evac+Chair International has launched its first powered evacuation chair.
Evac+Chair is a leader in creating stairway evacuation escape chairs which are used to help those with mobility impairments to evacuate buildings.
Since beginning their operations in Birmingham, the business has created manual evacuation chairs, supplying customers in over 50 countries including global businesses such as BP, Deloitte and Fujitsu. Evac+Chair is now revealing its latest innovation – a 24V lithium-ion battery operated chair, with a powered belt track system.
The new 900H Power evacuation chair reduces manual handling, whilst enabling mobility impaired individuals to be evacuated up or down 150 flights of stairs in one charge.
The move towards powered technology is a key step in Evac+Chair’s growth journey, with the company rolling out the 900H Power evacuation chair to sectors including social care, education, leisure and retail, alongside residential homes and commercial workplaces.
Ges Wallace, managing director at Evac+Chair International, said: “Everyone has the right to a quick and safe means of escape from a building. Whether mobility impaired or able-bodied, we could all experience circumstances when it might be more difficult to exit a building in an emergency.
“For over 35-years, we have been the global leader in supplying evacuation escape chairs. Our latest powered chair provides people with a safe and rapid method of upward or downward evacuation. It has been designed for one person evacuation and has enough power to transport a person up to 150 flights of stairs in one use.
“This latest innovation is a key milestone for Evac+Chair®. It demonstrates the power of our research and development capabilities, as well as our commitment to the future of the evacuation and fire safety industry.”
The Evac+Chair was invented with the aim of helping to save the lives of those with mobility impairments in an emergency – earning a place in the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York for its use.
The concept of the chair was invented by David Egen in the United States in 1982 – now licensed, developed and manufactured by Evac+Chair in the UK.
