MBTA Equal Access to Safe Egress Prepared by Katherine McGinness and Associates, Inc. 267 Moody Street Waltham, MA 02154 (617) 647-0809 For Project ACTION 700 13th Street, NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 347-3066 or 1-800-659-6428 Assistance derived from the Federal Transit Act, as amended, through a Cooperation Agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration and Project ACTION of the National Easter Seal Society. MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Acknowledgements ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project was undertaken for the Office of Transportation Access of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. It was sponsored by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Transportation Administration and Project ACTION of the National Easter Seal Society. This study has been produced with the cooperation of many people, including: ( Mr. John J. Hale), MBTA, General Manager MBTA Project ACTION ( Joseph J. Curtin, Manager, MBTA Office for Transportation Access ( Mary Lou Daly, Assistant Manager, MBTA Office for Transportation Access ( Brian P. Dwyer, Project Director MBTA Project ACTION Steering Committee ( Ralph Steele, Executive Board Member of the Access Advisory Committee to the MBTA (AACT) ( Jeff Grant, Chairman, Fixed Route Access Subcommittee of AACT ( Denise Karuth. Chairperson, Auditory-Visually Impaired Subcommittee of (AACT) ( John Winske, Executive Director, Massachusetts Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities ( Ms. Carrie Dearborn, Boston Center for Independent Living ( Ms. Kathleen Webb, Chairperson, South Shore Satellite Subcommittee of AAC ( Captain Thomas Quinn, Boston, Fire Department ( Detective John Shea, Boston Police Department ( Superintendent John Levine, Boston Health and Hospitals ( Lt. Mike McDonough, MBTA Police Department ( Joseph J. Curtin, Manager, Office for Transportation Access ( Mary Lou Daly, Assistant Manager, Office for Transportation Access ( Jack Killgoar, Superintendent, MBTA Rapid Transit Lines ( Anthony T. Slowe, Deputy Chief System Safety Officer, MBTA Safety Department Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. i MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Acknowledgements In addition, the project team appreciates the contribution of the following: ( Mr. James Rooney, MBTA Deputy General Manager ( Mr. Ronald J. MacKay, MBTA Assistant General Manager for Operation ( Mr. Randy Altshuler, MBTA Deputy Director of Operations for Administration ( Mr. Richard Haverty, MBTA, Manager, Maintenance of Way Training, Maintenance and Engineering Department ( Mr. Darryl Mayers, Manager, MBTA Contract Administration ( Mr. John O'Neill, MBTA Contract Administration ( Mr. Ed McDonough, MBTA Treasurer-Controllers Office ( Mr. Richard Leonard, MBTA Engineering and Maintenance ( Mr. William Bregoli, Chief of MBTA Engineering and Maintenance ( Mr. Roy Stephen, Chief of MBTA Heavy Rail ( Mr. Larry Murphy, MBTA Heavy ( Mr. Jim Walsh, MBTA Engineering and Maintenance ( Mr. Hugh Murphy, MBTA Engineering and Maintenance ( Mr. Robert Sellers, MBTA, Automotive Instructor: Examiner ( Mr. Kevin Doyle, MBTA, Chief Supervisor of Rapid Transit Line Training ( Mr. John Killgoar, MBTA, Superintendent of Rail Lines, Transportation Department ( Mr. William Shannon, MBTA, Supervisor of Vehicle and Passenger Safety, Safety Department ( Mr. Charles Steward, MBTA, Assistant Director of Construction for Development ( Ms. Sarah Campbell, MBTA, Project Manager ( Mr. Michael Francis, MBTA, Superintendent of Central Control ( Mr. Jeff Grant, Chairman, FRACAS ( Mr. Ralph Steele, Vice Chairman, AACT ( Ms. Denise Karuth, Chairperson, Auditory-Visually Impaired Subcommittee of AACT ( Ms. Melba Bayne, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority, Washington, D.C. ( Mr. Robert Almond, Parsons Brinkerhoff (previously with Systems/Safety Group, Metropolitan Atlanta Transportation Authority) ( Ms. Yvonne Dunkler, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Services, Unit Supervisor for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services ( Ms. Barbara Chandler, Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, Planner Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. ii MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Executive Summary 20 April 1992 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The goal of this project is to provide the MBTA with a program to improve the safety of passengers with disabilities in an emergency evacuation on the Blue, Orange, and Red rapid transit lines. The MBTA has achieved great progress in making its facilities accessible to people with disabilities, and there is an ever-increasing number of passengers with disabilities using rapid transit lines. Therefore, it is timely that this project be undertaken because, just as people with disabilities are entitled to equal access to public transit, public transit passengers with disabilities are entitled egress safety. It is a common practice to make assumptions about people with disabilities. Some of these assumptions include thinking that all disabilities are readily apparent, or that there are certain activities a person with a given disability cannot perform. These and other assumptions are often false. To avoid making assumptions about passengers with disabilities, the project team used a task based methodology to evaluate impediments to effective evacuation for rapid transit passengers with disabilities. Thus, rather than asking. "Can a passenger who uses a walker safely evacuate a train?," we prepared an assessment of the sequence of tasks anyone would have to complete in an evacuation, and determined which tasks would prove difficult for a person with one particular impairment. No one passenger's safety can be guaranteed absolutely. However, all passengers are entitled to the same level of protection. Therefore, the MBTA is seeking to reduce as much as possible the impediments to evacuation that a person with a disability might encounter as a rapid transit passenger. These impediments can be reduced in a number of ways: ( Enhanced emergency plans and procedures. ( Enhanced personnel training. ( Modifications to rolling stock, trainways, and stations. ( Procurement of new or additional equipment. The project's methodology revolved a broad sweep of data collection; Emergency plans were evaluated, key MBTA and disability group representatives were interviewed, discussions were held with representatives of other transit Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. iii MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Executive Summary 20 April 1992 properties, and audits were made of representative rolling stock, trainways, and stations. The result of these investigations was the development of a series of individual actions addressing problems which passengers with disabilities might confront in emergency evacuation on a rapid transit line. From this series of actions, one set of recommendations has been assembled which, if implemented together, would significantly increase the safety of passengers with disabilities in an emergency evacuation. In selecting a program of recommended actions, the paramount consideration was passenger safety, although cost was also considered. However, in no case was an action rejected for reasons of cost alone. It is not necessary to implement all of the recommended actions to significantly improve passenger safety. Certain recommendations are dependent upon policy decisions which the MBTA must make. Implementation of other recommendations is dependent upon procurement of equipment or modifications to rapid transit facilities or rolling stock. Some recommendations require significant capital outlay, changes in operations and maintenance procedures, or other significant consideration. The positive and negative aspects of each action evaluated are discussed in the body of this report. Although more than forty possible actions were evaluated in the course of this project, four actions emerged which are most critical to the safety of passengers with disabilities in emergency evacuation. They are: ( Convene an MBTA-wide coordinating body to address emergency preparedness, response, and training throughout all lines and divisions of the Authority. ( Complete the venting system to control smoke in tunnels and stations. ( Develop and implement a public information and education program to help passengers with disabilities understand their role in self-protection in a rapid transit emergency. ( Take all possible steps to assure that clear, authoritative information is provided to all passengers in an emergency situation. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. iv MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Executive Summary 20 April 1992 The project team urges action on each of these recommendations. Success in implementing this report's recommendations will require coordinated action by a number of MBTA divisions. Therefore, we feel that the first step that should be taken is to convene an emergency preparedness, planning and training coordinating committee. This committee's initial charge should be to monitor implementation of those additional recommendations selected for action. This project was initiated and designed to enhance the safety of passengers with disabilities on MBTA rapid transit lines in the event of an emergency evacuation. However, it is worth noting that in the process of providing better safety for passengers with disabilities, the MBTA will increase the safety of all passengers. It is our belief that by acting on all or any of the recommended actions in this report, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will take major strides in improving the security of all its customers who use rapid transit. Katherine McGuiness and Associates, Inc. v MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Table of Contents 20 April 1992 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY iii 1. PROJECT GOAL 1 METHODOLOGY 3 2. CRITICAL ISSUES 11 3. RECOMMENDATIONS 21 4. ACTIONS EVALUATED 34 5. TRAINING 66 6. CONCLUSION 74 BIBLIOGRAPHY 76 GLOSSARY 78 7. APPENDICES APPENDIX A MATRICES Responsibility Matrix Task-Based Matrix APPENDIX B Reports Interview Summary Station Emergency Egress Audit Report Rolling Stock Audit Report APPENDIX C Support Materials Basic Guidelines for Communicating with People with disabilities The Enabler APPENDIX D Equipment Specification Sheets Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Project Goal 20 April 1992 PROJECT GOAL In the past, the difficulty of protecting the safety of people with disabilities using public transportation contributed to the transit authorities' decision to limit access to public transportation. However, the MBTA as a matter of policy for many years has provided accessible transportation on virtually all of its modes. Further, the recently enacted Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that all public transportation be accessible to people with disabilities. Just as people with disabilities are entitled to equal access to public transit, they are entitled to equal access to safety while using that transit. The principal objective of this project is to develop an enhanced program for the evacuation of people with disabilities from Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority rapid transit lines in the event of an incident which threatens public safety. Evacuation of rapid transit vehicles or facilities is a vital component of emergency response, and is the most complex safety measure which can be taken. The safe and effective evacuation of rapid transit passengers requires detailed and specialized emergency preparedness, the more so for people with a mobility. perceptual or cognitive impairment. This team notes that many rapid transit accident scenarios require emergency measures other than evacuation which could prove difficult for a person with a particular disability. For instance, if a facility is filling with smoke due to a fire and before an evacuation is put into effect, passengers may need to kneel or lie on the floor. An individual might have difficulty initiating a passenger alarm to alert train crews of an emergency, or opening a doorway between rapid transit cars. Therefore, all actions which an individual might have to undertake to protect his or her safety in an emergency and which might prove difficult for a person with a disability are considered. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 1 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Project Goal 20 April 1992 Two other important benefits of the project are seen to be: ( The analysis and recommended plan and procedure changes will enhance the general safety of disabled passengers in any unusual transportation incident. ( The safety of all passengers on the MBTA's rapid transit lines will be enhanced by implementing the recommended actions of this report. This project exemplifies the Project ACTION goal of improving access to transportation through a collaborative effort between people with disabilities and transit providers. This project which addresses safe evacuation procedures for people with disabilities from rapid transit emergencies will also serve as a model for similar programs in other systems. The project team's approach used in this project is summarized in the following section. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 2 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Methodology 20 April 1992 METHODOLOGY The methodology used in this project to develop recommendations to enhance the evacuation and safety of people with disabilities using rapid transit has two key aspects. First is collaboration between transit providers and people with disabilities. The second is an assessment of the functional abilities of individuals during an emergency using task-based analysis, rather than the use of stereotypes about disabilities, in determining the difficulties pertinent to emergency response. Collaboration - The project approach relied on the consulting team's experience and expertise in disabilities issues, emergency preparedness and response, and transit engineering, as well as the substantial real-world experience and technical expertise of MBTA personnel and representatives of the MBTA's ridership who have disabilities. Task-Based Analysis - The entire safety process, from understanding an emergency warning through evacuation to the street, was not examined for each "type" of disability. A comprehensive list of emergency tasks was developed and those tasks which would be difficult for a person with a given disability were identified. Using a task-based evaluation methodology, as opposed to a traditional disability-based evaluation methodology, has several benefits. This approach assures that the full range of emergency measures is analyzed, and that unique and unforeseen needs can be met. Furthermore, this task-based evaluation examines each step of emergency response, and evaluates whether its completion requires a passenger to see, hear, speak, walk, jump, climb, stoop, lie, reach, grasp, et cetera (see Appendix A). The task-based matrix is cross referenced to a catalogue of functional impairments, including mobility, vision. hearing, speaking, breathing, reaching, grasping, and acute or potential medical conditions, as well as physical limitations of the vehicle, trainway, or station. Katherine McGuirmess and Associates. Inc. 3 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Methodology 2O April 1992 Using collaboration and task-based evaluation as the cornerstones of the project methodology, the project was undertaken in six tasks: Task 1 Assessment Review of the MBTA's existing Emergency Procedures for Rail Line Employees and Training Videotape Interviews Task 2 Emergency Egress Audits of Rapid Transit Stations Evaluation of Rolling Stock Trainway Evaluations and Recommendations Task 3 Equipment Evaluation Task 4 Potential Action Evaluation Task 5 Recommendations Task 6 Training Assistance Following is a discussion of each of these five tasks. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 4 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Methodology 20 April 1992 TASK ONE: ASSESSMENT In order to make practical recommendations on evacuation procedures for people with disabilities, an assessment of existing conditions and information gathering was carried out. The assessment included two elements: ( Evaluation of the MBTA's existing Emergency Procedures for Rail Line Employees and training videos, including a review of emergency plans and procedures. ( Interviews with the key MBTA personnel and representative riders with disabilities. The object of this assessment was to determine: ( Which departments within the MBTA and which entities outside the Authority have emergency plans and procedures to respond to an accident on an MBTA rapid transit line. ( The responsibilities covered by those plans and procedures. ( Whether particular plans and procedures are relevant to people with disabilities. ( The effectiveness of MBTA plans and procedures to meet the emergency needs of people with disabilities. Based upon this evaluation, a matrix (see Appendix A) was prepared which assesses the responsibilities of various emergency response personnel, including MBTA personnel, in support of emergency evacuation. In constructing this responsibility matrix, special attention was given to the types of assistance which might be required for passengers with disabilities in emergency situations. Another matrix was developed which compares the self-protective actions that any individual might have to complete during an emergency evacuation to the various potential physical and perceptual limitations that might be characteristic of individual passengers. This task-based matrix (see Appendix A) identifies the Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 5 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Methodology 20 April 1992 potential barriers and impediments to emergency evacuation which could be encountered by passengers with disabilities. The task-based matrix allowed the project team to identify corrective actions which could be taken to improve the safety of passengers with disabilities in emergency evacuation. An important aspect of the assessment phase of this project was interviewing key MBTA personnel and other individuals who are concerned with emergency evacuation from rapid transit. In addition to MBTA personnel, interviews were conducted with people with disabilities who use rapid transit lines and representatives of other transit properties. It was the intention of these interviews to take advantage of the practical expertise and concerns of the MBTA's own personnel and ridership, as well as that of other urban transit providers. Most local interviews were held in person individually or in small groups. Interviews with representatives of other transit properties and other emergency response agencies were done by telephone. The format of the interviews focused on soliciting relevant information on the issues - real and perceived - that impact the safe and effective evacuation of people with disabilities from rapid transit cars and facilities. Interviews included questions on the hardware, procedures, and systems t-hat affect evacuation, and safety procedures for people with disabilities in emergency conditions. The information gathered in these interviews was used to develop the checklists for review of the Emergency Egress Audits of stations and evaluation of the rolling stock and trainways. (See Appendix for Interview Guides, and Interview Summaries) Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 6 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Methodology 2O April 1992 TASK 2: EMERGENCY EGRESS AUDITS To identify the existing equipment and elements which affect the safe evacuation of individuals with disabilities, the project team examined representative rapid transit stations, rolling stock, and trainways on the Red, Blue. and Orange lines. These evaluations were done as three separate subtasks: ( Emergency Egress Audits of stations ( Evaluations of Rolling Stock ( Evaluation of Trainways Evaluation strategies were developed with information gathered from the interviews completed in Task one, as well as project team consultants' experience and expertise inAccess Audits, facility assessments, vehicle survey and design, and emergency preparedness and response. Emergency Egress Audits of Stations (see Appendix B) The project team did an Emergency Egress Audit of the following rapid transit stations on the Red, Orange and Blue lines selected in consultation with the MBTA: Station/Line Category Age Downtown Crossing (Red & Orange) Underground Refurbished 1988 Park St./Red Underground Refurbished 1988 Charles St./Red Ashmont/Red Elevated 1932 Ashmont/Red At-Grade 1928 State St./Orange and Blue Underground Refurbished 1988 Ruggles St./Orange Open Cut 1987 North Station/Orange Underground Refurbished 1975 Aquarium/Blue Underground 1968 An Emergency Egress Checklist {Appendix B) of critical safety and evacuation elements was developed which included such elements as lighting, stairs and handrails, areas of rescue assistance, communication systems, ventilation, fire protection equipment, rescue equipment, traction power shut-offs, graphics, Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 7 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Methodology 2O April 1992 egress ladders, and emergency power. Site visits were made to each station, and the checklists completed by staff of KMA and JHA. An Emergency Egress Audit Issues Report was prepared that summarizes system-wide issues relevant to safety and emergency evacuation of people with disabilities. Station-specific problems which were identified during the audits have also been noted. Evaluation of Rolling Stock The project team examined representative rolling stock currently in use on the Red. Blue, and Orange lines. Existing equipment and car design and construction elements that are critical to the safety and evacuation of individuals with disabilities during an emergency were studied. Elements addressed in this inspection include, but are not limited to, hold down devices for wheelchairs, height and width of doors between cars, handles to open car doors, surfaces between cars, height and width of side doors, emergency intercoms, fire extinguishers, ladders, planks, and communications with Central Control. An issues report was prepared of the rolling stock inspection {see Appendix B). Evaluation of the Trainway The project team examined representative sections of the trainway of the Red. Blue, and Orange lines. The pathways for emergency evacuation of people with disabilities were evaluated. Trainway sections were selected that represent at-grade, elevated, below-grade, tunnel, and bridge conditions. The team examined elements such as the following: ( Single or multiple box tunnel ( Solid or intermittent dividing wall ( Emergency exits ( Safety walks ( Running rail, third rail, ballast slope ( Vent shafts and plans for smoke evacuation ( Longitudinal grades ( Right of way fencing An issues report was prepared of the trainway inspection (see Appendix B). Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 8 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Methodology 2O April 1992 TASK 3: EQUIPMENT EVALUATION As a result of the interviews in Task 1, the Emergency Egress Audits and evaluation of rolling stock and trainways in Task 2, the project team considered additional emergency equipment which might enhance emergency evacuation of passengers with disabilities, including those who may have become temporarily disabled in a rapid transit emergency. The project team interpreted the meaning of "equipment" as movable equipment which might not be considered part of station or trainway design. Equipment was evaluated relative to the advantages and disadvantages of their use. Such factors as availability, cost safety numbers required, operational issues, reliability, and maintenance were considered. Potential additional equipment or modifications were identified in Task 4, Potential Actions Evaluated. TASK 4: POTENTIAL ACTIONS EVALUATED As a result of the interviews in Task 1, the Emergency Egress Audits and evaluation of rolling stock and trainways in Task 2, and the equipment evaluation in Task 3, the project team developed 43 actions remedial actions relative to developing an enhanced program for the evacuation of people with disabilities from rapid transit lines. These actions were grouped into eight (8) categories: I. II. III. Emergency Preparedness and Training Coordination Emergency Plans and Procedures Equipment A. New Equipment B. Modification of Existing Equipment Equi Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 9 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Methodology 20 April 1992 The actions were evaluated relative to their advantages and disadvantages in support of emergency evacuation of passengers with disabilities. This evaluation included such issues as over-all effectiveness, ease of implementation, operational impact, cost, and alternatives available. TASK 5: RECOMMENDATION Based on the evaluation of potential actions in Task 3, a summary of recommendations for an enhanced program for the evacuation of people with disabilities from rapid transit lines was developed. The recommendations are presented in the same eight categories established in Task 3. Actions were selected as recommendations based on their effect on the safety of people with disabilities in an emergency situation, their operational requirements, programmatic compatibility with other potential recommendations, the availability of alternate strategies, and cost. In no case, however, was an action that would enhance passenger safety rejected from the recommended program simply because of cost. TASK 6: TRAINING ASSISTANCE The project team developed recommendations to assist the MBTA in improving its training program for all rapid transit employees and emergency response organization personnel in the operational divisions of the MBTA rapid transit system. Special attention was given to developing recommendations that are independent of implementation of the other recommendations in this report. The project team's recommendations address: ( Review of current training objectives, methods, and materials on this subject. ( Training objectives for emergency evacuation for people with disabilities from rapid transit cars and facilities. ( Who should be trained. ( Training materials which support the training objectives. ( Training methods which support the training materials and objectives. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 10 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Critical Issues 20 April 1992 CRITICAL ISSUES The overriding purpose of this project is to improve the safety of passengers with disabilities on MBTA rapid transit lines in the event of an emergency requiring evacuation. Several principles of emergency preparedness, in particular, emergency preparedness for people with disabilities must be articulated at the outset: ( A passenger with a disability is entitled to equal access to safe egress as any other passenger in the general population. ( No complete guarantee can be given for the safety of any passenger, whether or not that passenger has a disability. ( Individuals share with public authorities responsibility for their own self-protection. ( The greatest threat to passenger safety is smoke in a tunnel or station. ( Improving emergency preparedness for passengers with disabilities will improve emergency preparedness for all passengers. ( A task-based method of evaluating emergency evacuation will lead to a deeper understanding of ways to enhance safety for all transit passengers. ( It is inappropriate to make assumptions about the capability of any passenger, with or without an obvious disability, to act, or not to act, in emergency evacuation. ( It is inappropriate to make assumptions about the assistance that a passenger with a disability does or does not need in emergency evacuation. ( To the extent possible, passengers with disabilities should remain with the general passenger population during emergency response. In undertaking this project we have used these principles to guide all work. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 11 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Critical Issues 20 April 1992 In addition to these principles, there are eleven critical issues that bear on all aspects of the project team's evaluation and recommendations: 1. Equal access to safety for passengers with disabilities. 2. Passengers' personal responsibility for their own safety. 3. Understanding passenger disabilities and their relationship to emergency evacuation. 4. Avoid isolation of people with disabilities during emergency evaluation. 5. The importance of communications in an emergency. 6. Barriers to evacuation on MB'FA rapid transit lines for passengers with disabilities. 7. Implementation of emergency procedures. 8. Planning basis emergency events. 9. Venting of smoke in rapid transit tunnels and stations. 10. Central control and emergency response. 11. Coordination with local public safety organizations. Following are brief discussions of these issues regarding emergency evacuation of rapid transit passengers who have disabilities. These issues inform all safety actions which were evaluated in the course of this project, and form the framework upon which the program of recommendations is built. EQUAL ACCESS TO SAFETY FOR PASSI~NGERS WITH DISAB~ In spite of the most strenuous efforts for emergency preparedness by the MBTA, it is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of injury or death to any single rapid transit passenger or group of passengers, This is true whether or not a passenger has a disability. However, there often is a disparity between the protection provided to passengers with and without disabilities. The disparity between the protection provided to different passengers transcends one's ability to complete the physical imperatives of evacuation such as walking or climbing. For instance, passengers who cannot hear or cannot hear well do not have equal access to emergency information broadcast over a public address system. People who cannot see or cannot see well do not have equal access to instructional signs. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 12 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe egress Critical Issues 20 April 1992 The MBTA should take all possible steps to anticipate the problems that people with disabilities might confront in emergency evacuation, and to provide passengers with disabilities equal access to safety by mitigating the factors which create a disparity between the protection offered one group of passengers over another. PASSENGERS WITH DISABILITIES PERSONAL RESPONSIBILTY FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY We live in a risk-filled environment, whether that risk derives from driving, operating electric appliances, taking medication, riding public transit, or a galaxy of other activities. People deal with these risks in various ways, very often unconsciously, by making safety awareness an essential element of their day-to-day lives. For a person with a disability, certain risks are magnified many fold, and the person with a disability must be especially aware of the risks he or she faces in going about routine activities. However, one is constrained in his or her ability to learn about even routine hazards and their mitigation by the information normally available to the individual. All rapid transit passengers, including passengers with disabilities must participate in their own protection. Rapid transit passengers should be urged to be aware of difficulties they may have in an emergency situation, be prepared to communicate that information to responsible personnel, and to take any possible action to protect themselves. The MBTA has Joined with people who have disabilities in an exchange of ideas about risks and personal risk reduction. Furthermore, information can be provided through advocacy groups to people with disabilities which give basic information on riding rapid transit lines and what the individual should be able to do to enhance his or her safety. This can be as basic as understanding when and how to inform an MBTA employee or other safety official of one's disability. A person with a disability must be prepared to tell safety officials clearly that one requires special assistance such as being placed on the floor in a certain position, et cetera. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 13 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Critical Issues 20 April 1992 UNDERSTANDING PASSENGER, DISABILITIES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO EMERGENCY EVACUATION The disabilities of many passengers requiring .special assistance in emergency evacuation will be obvious. An individual using a wheelchair, walker, or crutches has a mobility impairment, and a passenger with a guide dog is blind. In a major accident, a passenger who bas been injured may have an obvious disability. However, the particular assistance required by these passengers may not be at all obvious. For instance, a blind passenger may have no special difficulty navigating in a smoke-filled station. Indeed, a blind passenger may be better able to navigate a smoke filled station than a fully-sighted passenger. However, a passenger who is blind may need a guide to navigate a barrier-rich tunnel segment, where cables, rail switches, conduits, and weezie bonds appear in the path at irregular intervals. Personnel who might respond to an emergency should never make assumptions about people with disabilities. Many people will have disabilities which are not apparent to casual observation. Conversely, many people who appear to have a disability which would hinder their taking action to protect themselves in an emergency are in fact quite capable of self-protective action. Moreover, making assumptions about the assistance an individual requires may be not just inappropriate, but dangerous. For instance, a passenger with a spinal injury who must be helped from a wheelchair may have to be lifted in a precise manner to avoid putting pressure on his or her spine. For many people with spinal injuries, being lifted the wrong way can be fatal. Throughout this project, a task-based methodology of evaluation was used to determine the self-protective actions that passengers could be required to complete during an emergency evacuation on a rapid transit line. By evaluating the evacuation sequence in terms of the discrete actions any individual passenger may have to complete, developing categories of disabilities was avoided. Such categorization, in mm, could too easily lead to inappropriate assumptions. Similarly, in developing and evaluating recommendations for improving passenger safety, a program has been constructed which overcomes barriers to evacuation, rather than a a program which assists variously defined categories of passengers. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 14 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Critical Issues 20 April 1992 AVOID ISOLATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES DURING EMERGENCY EVACUATION Developing "places of refuge" for passengers with disabilities has been suggested as a method to facilitate their safety in an emergency. A place of refuge is a designated area where people with exceptional needs could wait for the arrival of personnel able to provide assistance or special equipment. Emergency response personnel would know to check a place of refuge to determine if evacuees remained who required additional protective help. A place of refuge is not intended to be an area where passengers could safely wait out an emergency, and there may indeed be situations in which use of a refuge is entirely appropriate. However, to be effective in all situations, a place of refuge would have to provide protection against the hazard creating the emergency; otherwise, people waiting in the refuge would be placed in greater Jeopardy by prolonging their exposure to the hazard. For instance, if a place of refuge cannot be made smoke-proof, it would not enhance the safety of passengers with disabilities in a code one situation, when there is smoke in the station or trainway. Further, if the refuge were smoke-proof, it would be difficult for MBTA personnel to limit access to the refuge to people with disabilities, and it could soon become too crowded to accommodate the passengers who truly need that measure of protection. As a general principle, passengers with disabilities should not be isolated from the general population during an emergency evacuation. With proper MBTA procedures, training, and equipment, passengers with disabilities will be able to move quickly and competently with all other evacuees during an emergency. Keeping all passengers together in an emergency evacuation enhances the safety of passengers with disabilities over providing places of refuge. In addition, it costs less than constructing refuges and it responds to passengers with disabilities right of equal access to safety. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 15 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Critical Issues 20 April 1992 THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATIONS IN AN EMERGENCY Perhaps the most critical element to assuring a safe and effective evacuation is to provide clear and authoritative information on emergency conditions and safety instructions. A clear and authoritative voice is the best mechanism to avoid panic and spontaneous evacuation during an emergency. This is especially important in an emergency with smoke in a tunnel, train or station. If smoke is present, passengers will know immediately that their safety is threatened and will be expecting advice on the threat, how W protect themselves, and actions which will be taken to protect them. The ability of passengers with perceptual limitations is often not considered in emergency preparedness. However, if people cannot hear or comprehend emergency information and instructions, their safety will be jeopardized as will the safety of other nearby passengers. Similarly, passengers who cannot see, read, or comprehend written instructions will be at a distinct disadvantage in an emergency evacuation because so many of the cues and instructions may have to be read or observed. One of the great challenges of this project is for MBTA personnel to determine which passengers cannot receive or comprehend emergency instructions and to develop a strategy to communicate with those passengers. BARRIERS TO EVACUATION ON MBTA RAPID TRANSIT LINES FOR PASSENGERS WITH DISABILITIES A review of rolling stock, trainways, and stations revealed numerous barriers to people with disabilities in emergency evacuation. These barriers ranged from physical impediments such as fixed signs in the path of travel, to perceptual impediments such as impediments to the transmission of clear and authoritative emergency information. All facilities and equipment were examined in terms of the tasks any passenger must complete in a safe and effective evacuation. In evaluating methods to overcome barriers to safe evacuation, we did not confine ourselves to "structural solutions to structural problems". Very often it was found that a change in procedure, a low-cost modification to existing equipment, or procurement of simple devices, was the best solution to assuring that passengers with alit, abilities could be safely evacuated. In some cases, however, it was found that only a Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 16 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Critical Issues 20 April 1992 significant investment in equipment or facility modifications could overcome the barrier. In all cases, we have recommended the most effective solution, regardless of cost, while expressly evaluating other alternatives. IMPLEMENTATION OF EMERGENCY PROCEDURES The greatest improvement to the safety of passengers with disabilities will derive from a program which provides the actual men and women who will be assessing and assisting passengers with disabilities the tools they need in a form they can use. It is not sufficient to eliminate physical barriers and modify facilities and equipment. Since emergency evacuation may be under the direct control of MBTA personnel, at least until local fire and emergency medical units have arrived on-site, those tools will include procedures for emergency evacuation of people with disabilities, and training in the use of procedures and provision of assistance. In developing a program for emergency response to assist rapid transit passengers with disabilities, it is important to bear in mind the perspective of the MBTA employees who must hid passengers during an evacuation. Employees' effectiveness in emergency response will not be enhanced by crowding their operational manuals and other documents with detailed procedures to cover every imaginable contingency. Yet, MBTA employee must be prepared to confront and resolve a broad range of difficulties in evacuation, based upon the encountered disabilities of passengers, the real time conditions of an emergency incident, and the actual barriers which must be overcome during emergency response. There are various ways of dealing with this matter. To the extent possible, emergency procedures should be consolidated and simplified. All procedures should be backed by a full and continuous training program such that MBTA personnel incorporate concern for people with disabilities into every aspect of emergency preparedness and response. In many cases, emergency procedures need not be continued in the documentation, such as manuals, provided to line personnel, but can be presented to them during an emergency by a Central Control dispatcher or by supervisory personnel on-site during an emergency. In this way, procedures can be most adaptable, and can be made responsive to the unique conditions encountered during an actual event. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 17 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Critical Issues 20 April 1992 Above all, there is no replacement for the professional judgement and experience of MBTA personnel, and emergency procedures should not attempt to substitute for that knowledge. PLANNING BASIS EMERGENCY EVENTS The "planning basis event" for examining emergency preparedness for people with disabilities is not a major rolling stock crash. In the event of a major accident with numerous and significant injuries, passengers with disabilities would be at no greater risk than other injured passengers. Further, emergency response by public safety organizations to a major rapid transit catastrophe, such as the Back Bay commuter raft crash, would be substantial, and would involve equipment and personnel to assist numerous injured victims including people who had a disability prior to the accident. The incident in which passengers with disabilities are put at the greatest disadvantage in regards to their safety, relative to other passengers, is a "Code One" emergency -- a smokey fire in a tunnel or station. This disadvantage can be exacerbated if the Code One emergency takes place during off-peak hours, when both the total number of passengers and the number of MBTA personnel on duty are reduced. In this regard it is important to bear in mind the ratio of total MBTA personnel to passengers at a given time. When the passenger load is light, there are fewer private citizen passengers available to provide immediate assistance to fellow passengers. Also, during off-peak hours of operation, the number of trained MBTA personnel available to assist the train crew in immediate emergency response is low. Whether a train has four cars and a handful of passengers, or six cars and more than 1.000 passengers, all rapid transit trains carry a two person crew. Hence, the disadvantage of passengers with disabilities is also exacerbated during peak, "crush load" conditions, when, in a rapidly escalating emergency, the ratio of MBTA train crew to passengers is lowest so that there will be fewer train crew members to provide assistance to a higher expected number of passengers with disabilities. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 18 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Critical Issues 20 April 1992 VENTING OF SMOKE IN RAPID TRANSIT TUNNELS AND STATIONS The best protection that can be provided passengers with disabilities is to mitigate the hazards they confront. To the extent practical, the MBTA should take steps to limit the effects of smoke in rapid transit line trainways and stations. This can best be accomplished by completing installation of a system to vent smoke through shafts fitted with exhaust fans. In 1975, C.E. Maguire completed a study which recommends such a system, however, certain key vent shafts recommended in the Maguire report have not yet been constructed. At present, the only venting available in case of a smokey fire in certain trainway segments is via the "piston effect" of moving trains. While piston venting can be effective in certain circumstances, it is only effective if trains are in fact moving; yet a significant fire on a rapid transit line may require that all trains be directed to stop at the nearest safe station. Further, the experience of two major fires on the New York City Transit System in 1990 and 1991 indicate that trains moving through a smoke-filled tunnel may force smoke into the stations ahead of the train's direction of travel. Completion of the vent system recommended in the 1975 "Maguire Report", with appropriate modifications indicated by more recent study by the MBTA, would represent a major reduction in the risk to rail passengers, especially those with disabilities using rapid transit lines. Along with completion of recommended vent shafts and fans, the MBTA should develop a coordinated venting program for all transit lines, which evaluates and recommends venting configurations for various code one scenarios. CENTRAL CONTROL AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE In any rapidly developing emergency, the source authority for emergency instructions prior to the arrival of local fire fighters, if summoned, is Central Control. Central Control's posture of remaining flexible and being able to issue emergency instructions to suit the unique conditions of any situation should be encouraged. Every emergency will be a unique experience, and it is most important that the professionals assessing the situation be as adaptable as possible and not constrained by overly-detailed procedures. The dispatchers at Central Control should have a thorough understanding of any issues pertinent to evacuation of Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 19 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Critical Issues 2O April 1992 people with disabilities, and be prepared to advise on-scene MBTA personnel on evaluating and assisting passengers with disabilities once an evacuation has been ordered. This can be covered in periodic re-training program for dispatchers. RESPONSE OF LOCAL PUBLIC SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS In most rapid transit emergencies, primary response will be provided by local fire departments and emergency medical squads. Information gathered during this project indicates that response by local public safety organizations to the scene of a fire or other emergency in the MBTA rapid transit system will be within five minute, often less. Coordination of emergency response between the MBTA and local safety organizations appears to be excellent and does not need reshaping. The MBTA has initiated regular meetings with local safety organizations to discuss emergency preparedness and response. These meetings can provide a good opportunity to address coordination of emergency services for passengers with disabilities. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 20 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 20 April 1992 RECOMMENDATIONS In this section, thirty four actions to improve equal access to safe egress are recommended. In the following section 'Potential Actions Evaluated", 42 individual actions which would enhance the safety of passengers with disabilities in the event of an incident on a rapid transit line are discussed. These actions were formulated in consideration of the following project activities: ( Research ( Review of applicable emergency plans and procedures. ( Interviews with MBTA personnel, personnel at other transit properties, and people with disabilities. ( Accessible emergency egress audits of stations. ( Evaluation of rolling stock. ( Evaluation of trainways. Alternative actions were identified based upon their effectiveness in resolving a problem confronted by a passenger with a disability in emergency evacuation. Initially. they were evaluated without regard to their cost of implementation. All potential actions were evaluated in light of both their impact on people with disabilities, suitability for implementation by MBTA personnel, and relative ease and cost of implementation and maintenance. Based upon this evaluation, we have constructed a program of 34 recommendations which together represent the most effective means of increasing the safety of passengers with disabilities in an evacuation. All of the actions in the recommended program relate to one another. That is, we have endeavored to recommend complementary actions which tn combination provide the greatest increase in the safety of passengers with disabilities. Some actions in the recommended program are more costly than other evaluated actions which address the same need, and some of the recommended actions are less costly. In no case, however, was an action that would enhance passenger safety rejected from the recommended program simply because of cost. In the instance of some recommends, one action necessitates or obviates another action. For instance, certain problems can be resolved by detailing MBTA staff to provide direction or assistance to passengers, while the need for assistance can be Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 21 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 20 April 1992 reduced by procurement or installation of equipment, Where a recommendation is made to use either personnel or equipment to address a certain need, the implications of that recommendation are explained in term of cost, operations and maintenance, and personnel requirements. In the course of this project, four matters surfaced consistently as the most vital to protection of passengers with disabilities on rapid transit lines: ( Control of smoke in tunnels and stations. ( Need for supervisory coordination of emergency preparedness and training activities. ( Need to involve passengers with disabilities in protection of their own safety while using rapid transit. ( Need to enhance the ability to provide clear and authoritative information and instructions. Thus, the following four recommendations arc considered particularly vital and should be implemented as part of any selected safety program. 1. Take all reasonable steps immediately to improve the system to vent smoke from MBTA tunnels and stations, consistent with the recommendations of the C.E. Maguire Report of 1975. Complete installation of recommended vent shafts and fans, and develop operational venting recommendations for coordinated smoke control on all MBTA lines for a variety of Code One scenarios. Clearly, improving the venting system is a vastly greater action than any of the other recommendations. However, smoke in tunnels and stations is the greatest single threat to the lives and safety of passengers with disabilities, especially to passengers with mobility impairments, and respiratory and cardio-pulmonary difficulties. Indeed, smoke in tunnels and stations represents the greatest single threat to the lives of all passengers because smoke kills quickly when it invades space and because it is the one agent most likely to cause panic and irrational spontaneous action in crowded trains, trainways, and stations. Therefore, every effort should be made to undertake these improvements. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 22 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 2O April 1992 2. Convene an Authority-wide coordinating body to address improvements to passenger safety on all MBTA lines. This body could assure that the valuable experience gained in the operations of any one MBTA activity are made available to all lines and divisions. This body would enhance the MBTA's coordination of emergency preparedness training and drills, and coordination with local public safety organizations. Success in implementing this report's recommendations will require coordinated action by a number of MBTA divisions. Therefore, we feel that the first step that should be taken is to convene an emergency preparedness, planning and training coordinating committee. This committee's initial charge should be to monitor implementation of those recommendations selected for action. 3. Develop and institute a public information and education program to help passengers with disabilities understand their role in self protection in a rapid transit emergency. 4. Make decisions regarding plans, procedures, equipment, station design, rolling stock and trainways with strong emphasis on the enhancement of the ability to provide clear and authoritative emergency information and instruction. Additional recommendations fall into six categories: ( Emergency Plans and Procedures Equipment ( Rolling Stock ( Trainway ( Station Design ( Signage Following is a brief summary of these 34 recommended actions that should comprise the MBTA's program to improve access to safe egress. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 23 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 20 April 1992 EMERGENCY PLANS AND PROCEDURES Each of these recommendations is discussed in detail in the "Actions items Evaluated" section which follows in this report. 1. Identifying passengers with disabilities. 2. Communicating with people who are deaf or hard of hearing, people who are blind, and people who have a cognitive impairment. 3. Determining the assistance that an individual requires. 4. Procedures to evacuate people with disabilities from trains. 5. Assisting people from the trainway to the platform. 6. Designating MBTA personnel or civilian assistants to carry passengers who cannot walk through runnels. 7. Procuring a cart, stretcher, other equipment to assist mobility impaired passengers through tunnel and station. 8. Designating passenger or employee companion for blind, vision impaired, or deaf passenger. 9. Directing people not to use places of refuge or places of passenger assistance. 10 Directing people not to use emergency stairways. 11. Preparing stations for evacuation. 11A. Shutting elevators, reversing escalators. 12. Monitoring passenger flow on escalators. 13. Designating safest evacuation route through station. 14. Advising passengers with disabilities on the 'best" evacuation route. 15. Blink lights in emergency to alert passengers to pay attention to crew instructions. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 24 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 20 April 1992 These recommendations form a program to enhance the safe and effective evacuation of passengers with disabilities in a rapid transit emergency. These recommendations are not intended to place an onerous procedural burden on MBTA personnel. In fact, providing personnel with too many and too complex procedures is counter productive. Rather, these procedures are intended to help personnel involved in an emergency response have the ability and flexibility to provide appropriate assistance; to be able to adapt to the unique conditions of an emergency situation and the needs of any passengers present. With the exception of recommendation 15, all of the recommended procedures can be instituted without new or modified equipment. Aspects of several of the recommended procedures, however, are dependent upon decisions made regarding equipment. These include recommendations 4, 5, 7, and 14. Following are the recommended actions regarding equipment modification and procurement, rolling stock modifications, trainway modifications, station design, and signage. In each case, the recommendation is composed of one or more action evaluated in the report section "Action Items Evaluated", where the actions are discussed in greater detail Readers of this report are urged to review the appropriate action or actions as noted under each recommendation. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 25 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 20 April 1992 EQUIPMENT RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Provide improved train to trainway egress The typical distance from train floor to track bed is approximately 4' 0". Many of the variety of ladders currently carried in the cabs of rapid transit cars pose a serious impediment to a person with a mobility impairment. The Toronto ladder would represent an improvement over the existing ladders. If it is determined that there is sufficient room in the train cab to store it, the Toronto ladder should be deployed in all cabs. If there is not sufficient room. then existing ladders should be modified to provide handrails and wider non-slip treads. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions'' section following in this report under Actions III.A.3, III.B.2, VI.4 and VI.5. 2. Provide a safe, effective, adaptable means of tr~u~por~g people unable to follow the designated egress path ~mgh trainway and station Passengers with a variety of functional limitations would not be able to negotiate passage through a trainway or station. The project team believes that a folding stretcher would be the best equipment to transport people who are injured or have a mobility. Though there are certainly positive aspects of the WMATA cart, its lack of flexibility, projected operational complexities, and significant cost make it an unattractive option when compared to the stretcher. A stretcher allows for continuous transport from car to street, adds little operational load, and is relatively inexpensive. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Actions III.A.3, III.B.2, VI.4 and VI.5. 3. Provide improved means for personnel to communicate with passengers with disabilities The first task required of passengers in an emergency is to "Follow the instructions of the train crew". Passengers who are deaf or severely hard of Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 26 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 2O April 1992 hearing may well be able to carry out required emergency response tasks if they are able to hear or understand the instructions. The project team recommends that pads and pencils, or erasable tablets, be readily accessible to all first response personnel. The project team also recommends that a pictograph card be developed. The best deployment strategy for this card must also be determined. In addition, the project team recommends that bullhorns be deployed so as to be readily accessible to all first response personnel. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Actions III.A.6 and III.A.7. 4. Fare gates should be provided that open with the path of egress Fare gates should open with the path of egress or swing both ways. An alternate solution is to manage this problem through procedures to have MBTA crews fix the gates in the open position as soon as an evacuation is declared or it is known that a train to be evacuated will enter a station. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Action III.B.1. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 27 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 20 April 1992 ROLLING STOCK RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Provide illumination at ends of cars Lighting that will improve passengers' and personnel's ability to see both the emergency ladder and surrounding trainway can significantly enhance a safe evacuation, as well as increase the confidence of the passengers. Permanent lamps should be installed to illuminate car end during evacuations, or auxiliary lamps for this purpose should be carried in all cabs. The MBTA in recognition of this problem has specified that lights be afixed above the door to the anti-climber in new Red Line car procurements. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Action IV.1. 2. Provide illuminated scrolling signs Scrolling signs are signs which provide a programmable illuminated moving line of copy. These signs would be most effective if configured so that emergency information can be transmitted either from the train crew or directly from central control. If local access only is provided, the train crews must be able to enter unscripted information. Prescripted messages regarding evacuation and self-identification of people with disabilities should be available to be transmitted on the scrolling signs either from the train or from Central Control. It should be noted, that new Red Line car procurements will be equipped with two banks of scrolling signs per car. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Action IV.5. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 28 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 20 April 1992 3. Install illuminated emergency exit signs at the end doors of all cars Illuminated EXIT signs should be provided at both ends of all cars. The train crew should be able to mm these signs on and off so that the direction of evacuation can be made immediately apparent to the majority of passengers. These signs could be most effective in indicating the direction of evacuation from the end of a train. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Action IV.6. 4. Provide a mechanism enabling train crew to blink lights in emergency Blinking lights is a universally recognized signal to stand by for information. It would be readily understood by passengers with a hiring disability or who are deaf, as well as by the general passenger population who may be unable to hear the public address system because of noise. As new cars are procured and older cars modified, consideration should be given to developing a mechanism to blink certain car interior lights to alert deaf and hard of hearing passengers that emergency information is about to be provided. A mechanism to blink lights with a switch in the cab might require installing new lights, or modification of existing electrical circuits. The blinking light may require incandescent rather than neon bulbs. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Actions I.15 and IV.3. 5. Improve passenger to traincrew intercom communications capability Certain Red Line cars are presently equipped with an intercom which allows passengers to contact and communicate with the train crew. These systems can be an important mechanism for a person with a disability to notify the crew that they need assistance in an emergency. However, not all of the intercoms are located in a spot which is accessible to a person with a disability. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 29 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 20 April 1992 The MBTA is committed to installing accessible intercoms on all new cars procured. However, intercoms should be installed on all existing rolling stock. Existing but inaccessible intercoms should be moved to an accessible location. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Action IV.4. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 30 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 20 April 1992 TRAINWAYS RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Provide permanently mounted reflectors Determine which trainway segments are particularly hazardous and could most benefit from permanently installed reflectors. The reflectors should be a color not otherwise used in the system, light blue if possible, and should be mounted so that they reflect back to an individual carrying a flash light. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the 'Potential Actions" section following in this report under Actions V.1 and V.2. STATION DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS 1. In future new station design and existing station alterations provide consistent station design. It is not the intent of this recommendation to dictate that stations should look the same. To facilitate emergency egress, design consistency is important in those elements of station design that affect a person's ability to find the best egress route and to successfully navigate it. Consistency in such elements as signage design, content and placement, exit configurations, use of finishing materials, lighting, and handrails can improve a person's ability to evacuate a station quickly and safely. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Action VI.2 and VI.3. Katherine McGuinness and Associates. Inc. 31 MBTA: Equal Access Egress Recommendations 20 April 1992 SIGNAGE RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Install illuminated scrolling signs or video monitors in stations and at platforms. Scrolling signs or video monitors would be a very effective way of providing clear and authoritative emergency information and instructions to all passengers except those who are blind, speak no English, or cannot read. To serve as emergency information sources, these monitors must be wired to the emergency power system or another uninterruptable electric source and be tied to Central Control, from where commercial messages can be overridden and emergency information provided. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Action VII.1. 2. Provide illuminated exit signs in stations. Illuminated emergency exit signs would enhance all passengers' ability to locate the nearest safe egress. The placement of these signs should be determined in a station by station evaluation. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Action VII.2. 3. Provide consistent emergency instruction signs on trains. AU signs conveying emergency information, such as to follow train crew instructions, or the location of emergency switches and equipment, should be consistent in design, placement, and content on all rolling stock. Emergency signs should be posted prominently in all cars, and posted so that they can be differentiated from advertisements, maps, and other written materials. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Action VII.3. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 32 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Recommendations 20 April 1992 4. Provide braille plaques at elevators, "DO NOT USE IN THE EVENT OF FIRE," Braille plaques should be attached at elevator call buttons which instruct passengers not to use the elevator in the event of fire. This recommendation is discussed in detail in the "Potential Actions" section following in this report under Action VII.4. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 33 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 ACTION ITEMS EVALUATED Based on interviews and observations, forty two {42} action items have been developed and evaluated to provide an enhanced program for the evacuation of people with disabilities from MBTA rapid transit lines. These recommendations are grouped into the following categories: I Emergency Preparedness and Training Coordination II Emergency Plans and Procedures III Equipment A. New Equipment B. Modification of Existing Equipment IV Rolling Stock Modifications V Trainway Modifications VI Station Design VII Signage VIII Public Information Below, each item is discussed relative its advantages and disadvantages. Two primary issues are addressed in the evaluation: ( The level of safety enhancement provided to people with disabilities ( Key operational and implementation issues I COORDINATION OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND TRAINING To best implement any emergency preparedness and response program for people with disabilities, it is advisable to develop a supervisory group or committee to coordinate all emergency preparedness and response functions of the MBTA. This group or function would be responsible for emergency preparedness for all passengers, including passengers with disabilities. It would enhance general emergency preparedness and passenger safety and would provide a framework for addressing the exceptional needs of passengers with disabilities. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 34 MBTA: Equal Access W Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 2O April 1992 An emergency preparedness coordinating committee representing all lines and divisions of the MBTA would be able to assure that equipment, procedures, and new ideas for passenger safety receive the widest possible audience for review, evaluation and implementation. It would also help assure t-bat programs, such as training programs, were consistent from line to line and provides the best possible training to all MBTA employees. It would also provide a forum for incident evaluation. Currently, emergency response training is carried out on a departmental level. There is currently no function to ensure that training is consistent across departments, or that the needs of people who have disabilities in emergency situations are coordinated among departments. A coordination function would facilitate this transfer of curriculum, support materials, and methodologies. The emergency response and training function should: ( represent all transit lines, all departments and all types of personnel who may be utilized in emergency response, ( be a permanent standing group involved in all aspects of emergency preparedness, including: - coordination between MBTA departments for program implementation, - coordination with outside public safety officials, - design of training materials, - drill and exercise design criteria and particulars for specific locations or lines, and - determination of need for materials or equipment for emergency response. ( develop an emergency response program that outlines department and individual responsibilities and reporting (chain of command) and coordination, ( develop, review, and upgrade emergency procedures and checklists on a regular basis; annually, after drills, after system or station modifications, after evaluation of an accident or other emergency action and ( evaluate post-emergency data gathered after each incident. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 35 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 2O April 1992 II. EMERGENCY PLANS AND PROCEDURES A great deal can be done to enhance the safety of individuals with disabilities by modifying existing emergency procedures. Following are fifteen actions which involve little or no new equipment, but can dramatically improve safe evacuation. 1. IDENTIFY PASSENGERS WITH DISABILITIES Disabilities are both visible, and invisible. Transportation and other emergency response personnel should be prepared to identify passengers who have disabilities that may require special assistance. This will require MBTA personnel to be aware of the potential for passengers on rapid transit to have disabilities, and to use observation skills to identify such individuals. In addition, individuals with disabilities need skills in self-help procedures that are effective in emergency situations. Certainly one of the critical aspects of identifying passengers with disabilities is for personnel to be aware of "Medical Alert" Jewelry or other similar insignia. These are tags often worn around the neck or on the wrist which indicate an existing medical condition which may effect an individual. Awareness Specific procedures should be developed so that MBTA personnel will know to identify people with a variety of more or less obvious disabilities. MBTA personnel should also be especially sensitive to people with non-visible disabilities who might need assistance with emergency evacuation, such as people who are deaf, people with minor mobility impairments, heart disease, et cetera. Personnel should know that one or more of a range of disabilities will affect a passenger's ability to carry out even simple, self-protective emergency actions. Observation skills Personnel should know to observe passengers as the passengers move through the train during an evacuation They should be alert for passengers who seem to have difficulty moving, maintaining orientation, or communicating. Personnel should Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 36 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 2O April 1992 make announcements requesting that passengers who anticipate difficulty in evacuating identify themselves to the train crew, fire fighter, other emergency personnel on-scene, or another passenger. MBTA personnel should be alert for people using assistive devices such as crutches, canes, walkers, white canes, and guide dogs. Rapid Transit incidents may result in unconscious passengers. Personnel should always check for Medic Alert bracelets or necklaces. Train crews, inspectors, fare collectors and other transportation personnel likely to be "first on the scene" should be made familiar with a range of both visible and invisible disabilities. Deaf, non-English speaking people, and those people who have cognitive disabilities or who are susceptible to seizures are among the passengers who may be limited in their ability W: ( Hear instructions. ( Comprehend instructions. ( Communicate their needs. ( Perform required evacuation tasks. Self-help procedures When it is determined that an emergency response involving passengers is required such as "Move to the first car of the train," the public address announcement should direct people who feel unable to carry out the instruction to notify the train crew. Possible methods of informing the train crew include using passenger intercoms when available or asking another passenger to relay a message. Further study is required to determine whether the public address announcement should request that passengers attempt to identify people who appear unable to understand the announcement whether due to hearing or cognitive impairment or the inability to understand English. Announcements that require passengers to leave specific cars or the train should include a statement that MBTA personnel will inspect each car to determine whether there are any passengers who can not complete the instructed actions. People unable to leave the car or train should be assured that assistance is coming. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 37 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 2O April 1992 Wherever MBTA personnel are in contact with passengers during an evacuation or other incident, such as when assisting passengers in climbing down from the car to the trainway, they should be instructed to look for passengers who appear to have difficulty in performing necessary tasks and to ask whether there are passengers in need of special assistance. 2. COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE SENSORY OR COGNITIVE LIMITATIONS Communications between emergency response personnel from both MBTA and other responding agencies and passengers is a critical element in the safe and efficient evacuation of rapid transit trainways or stations. Being able to communicate effectively with people who have disabilities is especially important as these people may require special assistance. Passengers with a severe-to-profound hearing limitation will be unable to understand emergency instructions. People with cognitive limitations may not be able to fully understand instructions. They also may not be sufficiently oriented to respond appropriately to directions, such as knowing which way "forward" is in a car. Following are specific recommendations that all MBTA personnel must understand and use in emergency situations. Communicating with People who are deaf Some people who are deaf can read lips. In this case, it is important that the speaker face the person directly so the speaker's lips can be clearly seen. It is important not to exaggerate speech or lip movement, which changes the way words are formed. Speak with moderate speed, and repeat information and instructions. If the person indicates that they are having difficulty understanding, ask another person to repeat the message. If a deaf passenger cannot read lips, write the message on a pad of paper or erasable tablet. If a deaf passenger can not read or cannot read English, use a pictograph card, if available. Policy decisions are required as to whether pad and pencil will be be adopted, and whether or not a pictograph card will be developed. For more on the role of pictographs see Section III, #8 of this report section. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 38 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 Communicating with people who have difficulty speaking MBTA and other safety personnel should not indicate that they understand a person if they do not understand the passengers speech. Repeat what it was thought the person said. Ask the passenger to repeat any part that is difficult to understand. Though emergency situations require much to be accomplished in little time, personnel and passengers must be as patient as possible. Communicating with people with cognitive disabilities Personnel should make their message as simple as possible. Repeat the message clearly and patiently. Communicating with people who are blind Blind passengers should have no difficulty understanding an emergency message and verbal instructions. However, it may be necessary to establish one's credentials as a member of the MBTA staff. Tell the person who you are and your position. To the extent that is possible, explain what the situation is. 3. DETERMINING THE ASSISTANCE THAT AN INDIVIDUAL REQUIRES People who have disabilities may have physical conditions which can result in serious harm if specific procedures are not followed when moving or lifting the person. For instance, a person who uses a wheelchair and who's spine is in compression can be killed if moved in the wrong manner. Other people must only be laid down in one position in order not to interfere with their breathing. Some conditions may not result in harm to the person but may cause serious discomfort if correct procedures are not followed. Further, certain passengers, such as ones with a vision impairment may not need as extensive assistance in evacuation as personnel might suppose. MBTA personnel should be provided procedures on how to ask if and what assistance a disabled passenger needs. Personnel should know that he or she should, after identifying a passenger with a disability, ask that individual if they require assistance and the precise nature of the assistance needed. The procedure should include instruction to ask questions regarding critical information vis-a-vis the task based approach. Do not ask, "Are you blind or partially sighted?" Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 39 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 Rather, ask, "What assistance do you need in order to accomplish desired emergency response?" Personnel should know that in determining what is essential to assisting a passenger, they should also determine what not to do. For example, a passenger in a wheel chair may specify "Don't lay me down on my back!" Medical personnel should be consulted regarding the types of passenger conditions that should await arrival of trained medical personnel. The General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts address many circumstances in which a "good samaritan" or volunteer may be held harmless and free of liability. Because the MBTA operates in many varied circumstances and locales, it cannot be predicted with any degree of accuracy which of these statutory provisions might apply in a given circumstance. Therefore. it is necessary for the MBTA legal council to review the "Samaritan Statutes" in effect in the Commonwealth and to formulate a set of guidelines or procedures to follow in such circumstances. 4. PROCEDURE TO EVACUATE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES FROM TRAINS Barriers to the safe and quick evacuation a passengers from a train onto the trainway and then to an exit can be significant. The wide variety of ladders currently stored on trains make it difficult to develop clear consistent instructions for descending from a train. The path of travel along trainways requires navigation over, around and through numerous barriers. Some of these barriers can be anticipated, such as weezie bonds, cross-overs, and feeder cable. There are other barriers that can not be anticipated, such as deep gaps in the ballast, protruding standpipes, material and equipment left on the trainway by work crews. Procedures should be developed advising emergency response personnel and other MBTA personnel on how to assist people with a variety of disabilities to descend from a train, walk through tunnels, climb to a platform, move through a station, et cetera. Procedures will vary according to certain decisions as yet to be made by the MBTA regarding recommendations contained in this report. These decisions include: Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 40 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 The type of ladder chosen to be used on trains Personnel need to be able to provide to passengers who have one or more disabilities concise instructions on how to descend the ladder. Procedures developed will depend upon the type of ladder chosen to used on trains; Toronto ladders, modified existing ladders with uniform wide treds and handrails, or unmodified existing ladders. Reflectors or reflective paint on tunnel walkways Personnel must understand purpose of reflective material and instruct passengers to follow it, if these materials are installed or applied in trainways. Stetchers or WMATA type cart Personnel must be made knowledgeable in the use of stretchers or evacuation carts, regardless of the equipment selected for procurement and deployment. Once decisions on these recommendations are made, appropriate procedures can be developed. For example, if the Toronto ladder is chosen to provide trainway to platform transit where stairs do not exist, procedures might direct personnel to: ( stand in a specific place at the top or bottom of the ladder ( provide verbal instructions on how to use ladder, and ( provide physical assistance to passengers on the ladder. In addition, general methods of carrying and lifting people who are unable to walk must be understood by personnel. These should be developed in consultation with medical personnel and people with disabilities. Carrying and lifting procedures must address injury prevention for personnel as well as the safety and comfort of passengers. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 41 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 5. ASSISTING PEOPLE FROM THE TRAINWAY TO THE PLATFORM Currently, forms of trainway egress to station platforms include both metal and concrete stairs, and ladders. Ladders in specific stations are usually similar in design, however, there is a wide variation in ladder types between stations. Also, ladders and stairs are often connect to the platform area by a narrow aisle, as little as twelve inches wide. An evacuating passenger may encounter a metal sign or fixed gate which is intended to to keep passengers from entering the trainway from the platform. The trainway: platform interface represents a particularly difficult barrier to passengers with disabilities. It is the segment of the evacuation route where a significant bottleneck is most likely to occur. MBTA and other emergency personnel should be provided with procedures on assisting people with various disabilities to climb from the trainway to a platform and to get over or around the different barriers which may be found at the transfer point. The procedures developed will depend on certain management decisions to be made by the MBTA: ( Whether to reconstruct trainway: platform interfaces so that there is a staircase with handrails at both ends of every platform. ( Whether to reconstruct trainway: plafform interfaces so that there is at least one staircase with handrails per platform. ( Whether to procure and deploy "Toronto Ladders" for use in stations where movement from the trainway to the platform is difficult. If no ladders are deployed and no structural improvements undertaken, the train and station crews must understand how to lift and assist people who may have one or more of a number of disabilities either over a barrier filled pathway, or directly onto the platform. If Toronto Ladders are deployed, MBTA and public safety personnel will have to know where they are stored and how they must be opened and placed. Lifting of some passengers will still be required. Procedures for assisting people with disabilities up the Toronto Ladder would be similar to providing assistance to passengers with disabilities as they descend from trains to the trainway in an evacuation. If the interfaces which lack staircases are reconstructed, no new procedures need to be developed. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 42 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 In addition, many stations have significant barriers, such as meta "DANGER" signs and gates blocking passage to the platform, or a narrow path to the platform as little as 12 inches wide and six feet long. Station by station evaluations should be made of these barriers, their presence noted, and procedures to have MBTA personnel or other safety officials stationed at these points to help passengers with disabilities to cross them. As an element of long range plans for station modifications, these barriers at the platform: trainway interface should be eliminated. Research should be done on barriers which will prevent or discourage people on platforms from entering the trainway, but which can be opened or easily overcome by people moving from the trainway to the platform. 6. DESIGNATING MBTA PERSONNEL OR CIVILIAN ASSISTANTS TO CARRY PASSENGERS WHO CANNOT WALK THROUGH TUNNELS When it is necessary for a passenger using a wheelchair to be removed from his or her chair, it will be necessary to carry that individual through the trainway and station in an emergency evacuation, MBTA Personnel should have procedures to summon extra emergency personnel or, in an extreme emergency, to designate civilian passengers to carry and otherwise assist people who use wheelchairs. "Samaritan Laws" relevant to civilian assistance should be subjected to a legal analysis. MBTA train crew procedures address this matter in their present form. These procedures can be enhanced by submitting state samaritan laws to the MBTA General Counsel to determine the degree to which private citizens, MBTA, and safety personnel are protected from liability while assisting people with disabilities in emergency evacuation. MBTA personnel must know to instruct personal assistants to remain with the people they aid until they are clear of danger. MBTA personnel should have instructions on the use of any equipment purchased in the future to help move people with mobility impairments, such as stretchers or WMATA carts discussed elsewhere in this report, Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 43 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 7. PROCURING A CART, STRETCHER, OTHER EQUIPMENT TO ASSIST MOBILITY IMPAIRED PASSENGERS THROUGH TUNNEL AND STATION Procedures for train crews and other MBTA personnel should contain a list of emergency equipment available to assist the evacuation of people with disabilities as well as instructions on how to procure and deploy that equipment. Special attention must be given to assuring that MBTA and safety personnel know of new equipment procured and deployed as a result of this and future projects, and that appropriated instructions on the equipment's use is widely available. 8. DESIGNATING PASSENGER OR EMPLOYEE COMPANION FOR BLIND, VISION IMPAIRED, OR DEAF PASSENGER Especially on a crowded train, their may be more passengers requiring special assistance than on-site train crew to help them. Procedures for deployment of extra MBTA personnel to provide assistance should be developed. Further, procedures for recruitment of civilian passengers to assist people with disabilities should be formalized. "Samaritan Laws" relevant to civilian assistance should be subjected to a legal analysis. (See also, comments under action item 6, above.) Procedures to assist a passenger who is blind Certain specific instructions should be given to MBTA or civilian companions regarding assisting a blind passenger: ( Never take hold of a person who is blind. Allow him or her to grasp your arm. ( If the person uses a white cane, stand on the opposite side of the cane. ( Tell the person the direction of movement. ( Tell the person the distance of movement. ( Stay one-half pace ahead of the person. ( Drop your lead arm back when walking through narrow areas. ( Call out maneuvers to be made. ( Provide frequent information about surroundings. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 44 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 9. DIRECTING PEOPLE NOT TO USE PLACES OF REFUGE OR PLACES OF PASSENGER ASSISTANCE New and renovated rapid transit stations have "PLACES OF PASSENGER ASSISTANCE" near police intercoms. These are intended for use during personal emergencies. Isolating passengers in a designated spot, such as directing passengers with disabilities to "Places of Passenger Assistance", which may not be proximate to an evacuation route and may not be hazard free, especially in a "Code One" situation, could place them in greater jeopardy. All passengers, including passengers with disabilities, should move as well as possible with the general population. Further, causing passengers with disabilities to wait at a place of refuge or other assembly point may compromise their equal access to emergency protection. Procedures should direct that places of passenger assistance or places of refuge not be used by passengers with disabilities during an emergency evacuation. 10. DIRECTING PEOPLE NOT TO USE EMERGENCY STAIRWAYS Emergency stairwells in tunnels and stations are steep, long and often require the use of a ladder at the end. These stairways would be physically challenging to anyone. For people with a variety of disabilities, especially mobility or respiratory, they may present an insurmountable barrier. The potential for a scenario in which a person starts up an emergency stair and is unable to make it to the top is foreseeable; indeed, such a situation has developed in at least one previous evacuation. This would create dangerous bottleneck. The ability for personnel to provide assistance in a stairwell is restricted. Further, if opened at the street level in a "Code One" situation, the emergency shaft will act as a chimney and fill with smoke. Procedures should reflect that emergency stairways in tunnels and stations should not be used for evacuation without explicit direction from central control or the commanding fire fighter on-site at an emergency. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 45 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 11. PREPARING STATIONS FOR EVACUATION Certain steps must be taken to prepare a station for evacuation under the following circumstances: ( Fire, smoke, or other emergency in the station. ( Arrival in the station of a train which must be evacuated because of smoke or other factor. ( Arrival of passengers who have been evacuated along the trainway. To the extent that passengers with disabilities face evacuation barriers in a station, those barriers should be mitigated in advance if time allows. MBTA personnel who might assist in preparing a station for evacuation, especially in a Code One emergency, should be provided with a checklist of actions which need to be taken. These actions include shutting elevators if there is smoke in the station, and reversing escalators (see 11a, below). The checklist can be provided by a dispatcher at Central Control or by other supervisory personnel at the time of an emergency. This checklist could also include securing the fare gate in the open position, lighting exit signs, or implementation of other recommendations appearing elsewhere in this report. 11A. SHUTTING OFF ELEVATORS, REVERSING ESCALATORS Promptly preparing a station to be evacuated or to receive passengers from an evacuated train will help assure the safety of passengers with disabilities and permit them to move effectively with the general passenger population. Procedures for fare collectors, inspectors, and other MBTA personnel should contain instructions for shutting elevators in a "Code One" situation, and for reversing "Down" escalators for emergency evacuation. Elevator procedures should clearly direct that personnel determine that the elevator is unoccupied before shut-down. MBTA personnel who might assist in reversing escalator and shutting elevators in Code One emergency, should be provided a check List of actions which need to be taken. The checklist can be provided by a dispatcher at Central Control or by other Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 46 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 supervisory personnel at the time of an emergency. 12. MONITORING PASSENGER, FLOW ON ESCALATORS If a person falls at the top of an escalator or has difficulty getting off the escalator, a dangerous situation will be created for passengers on the treads and waiting to get on at the escalator's bottom. MBTA personnel who might man stations during an evacuation should understand how to monitor passenger flow on escalators. Passengers who might have difficulty getting on or off the escalator should be identified and either provided assistance in riding the escalator or directed to another method of egress. If sufficient stuff is available at the time of an evacuation, Central Control or a supervisory official should assign MBTA personnel at the bottom and top of each escalator to assure that passenger flow is uninterrupted. 13. DESIGNATING SAFEST EVACUATION ROUTE THROUGH STATION The safest evacuation routes through a station are not usually obvious, especially at the larger or more complex stations. Train crews and station personnel should be capable of identifying a station evacuation route which is the safest available for people with disabilities, taking into consideration that people may have difficulty negotiating an escalator and that elevators may be shut if there is smoke in the station. This recommendation could require a thorough evaluation of each rapid transit line station to determine in advance the best possible emergency evacuation route for most situations. However, it is most important that this evaluation be done for the larger and more complex stations with multiple exits and line transfers such as State, Downtown Crossing, or Harvard. Having done the evaluation and prepared information on the best emergency evacuation routes, that information could reside at Central Control, and supervisory personnel could use it to advise station and train crews upon request at the time of an emergency. Also, station evacuation route maps could be kept posted or otherwise available inside the fare Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 47 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 collectors booth. It is not necessary - nor is it desirable - to have individual crew personnel memorize evacuation routes. 14. ADVISING PASSENGERS WITH DISABIBILITIES ON THE "BEST" EVACUATION ROUTE Passengers with disabilities may be used to using elevators to enter and exit stations: indeed, certain passengers may be unaware of other station exits if their disability requires elevator use under norms! circumstances. However, during an emergency evacuation, using the elevator not be the most effective means of station egress. In a "Code One" situation, the elevator might in fact be shut down. MBTA personnel should have procedures to advise passengers in stations on the best evacuation route, that is, the evacuation route which will provide them the best protection. (See comments in item 13 immediately above). Having determined the best evacuation route through a station, personnel must be prepared to direct passengers along that route. This can be done in different ways, depending on management decisions. If illuminated emergency exit signs are installed, fewer personnel will be required to direct evacuees along the desired route. Similarly, if evacuation tape is deployed fewer personnel would be needed for crowd control, however, personnel would be needed to deploy the tape. Until such time as any equipment such as illuminated exit signs or evacuation route tape are procured, MBTA personnel should be prepared to be deployed in stations to direct passenger flow along the selected route. This would require stationing one employee at each directional decision point. The employee should be provided a vest in a bright color, or other insignia of his or her status. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 48 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 15. BLINK LIGHTS IN EMERGENCY TO ALERT PASSENGERS TO PAY ATTENTION TO CREW INSTRUCTIONS People who are deaf or hard of hearing as well as people who do not understand English may not be aware that an emergency announcement is being made over the train public address system. Even in cars that have scrolling signs, the passenger load may be such that the signs are obscured. As new cars are procured and older cars modified consideration should be given to developing a method to blink certain in car interior lights to alert deaf and hard of hearing passengers that emergency information is about to be provided. Blinking lights is a method of getting people's attention that is familiar to all. Blinking should only be done in an emergency situation requiring passenger action and attention, not preceding routine messages on train delays. III. EQUIPMENT A. New Equipment 1. STRETCHERS When passengers are unable to walk by themselves or with assistance and evacuation is required, safe and efficient transport must be provided. In lieu of more technically advanced equipment, an evaluation should be made to providing simple folding stretchers (litters) to use in evacuation of passengers with a severe mobility impairment. Personnel contacted at WMATA stated that one of the reasons behind the development of the evacuation cart was that in simulation drills they saw the need for four people to handle the stretchers. MBTA personnel have stated that in their experience, two people were sufficient to handle a stretcher. A study should be made to determine the most effective deployment of stretchers; either in tunnels, on trains, or in stations, or a combination. Folding stretchers small enough to be carried in rapid transit car cabs are commercially available. The additional operational load caused by the alternate deployment strategies must be determined. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 49 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 2O April 1992 Stretchers can be deployed in train cabs, tunnels, or stations, or with emergency personnel vehicles. Based upon the size of presently available stretchers, consideration should be given to placing one in every cab. Regardless of deployment on trains, stretchers or carts should be evaluated and one or the other placed in locked boxes in stations. Stretchers should be maintained in tunnels where the tunnel segment is a long distance between stations. One such folding stretcher to consider is the Reeves 101 Stretcher. {$176.00 each) 2. WMATA CART The Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) has developed an evacuation cart which rolls on existing track and can be used to evacuate passengers with mobility or other serious impairments. The WMATA cart weighs approximately 172 pounds. It can carry four stretchers with a total weight of 1,000 pounds. The cart is constructed from high-strength aluminum alloys and has non-conductive 10' flanged wheels. The cart allows two emergency response personnel to transport four persons on stretchers along a trainway. Such a cart could also be used to move equipment to incident sites. WMATA has available about 135 of these stretchers-on-wheels, and would like to have two in each station, one at each end of the platform. WMATA officials expressed no reservations about their ability to control access to and use of the carts, which are kept in locked boxes. On the other hand, an engineer who has worked with the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transportation Authority (MARTA) expressed reservations about whether or not the location of an evacuation cart within the transitway could be determined. It should be noted that the WMATA cart costs in excess of $4,000 when purchased in a lot of 90 units. In addition to their expense, use of these carts implies extensive procedural considerations, such as setting switches to move them forward and resetting switches, if necessary, to move them backwards. The carts could also interfere with a line of evacuees walking within the tracks. An engineer contacted at MARTA stated that the evacuation cart concept was rejected their emergency plan development because it was felt that it would be difficult to maintain security on the carts in a manner that would both prevent unauthorized use while at the same time providing easy access by emergency atherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 50 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action ltem Evaluated 20 April 1992 response personnel. It was also questioned whether the carts would be able to be detected on the planned Automatic Train Operation (ATO) system. It should be noted that the MBTA utilizes ATO on the Blue and Orange line. If such a cart is procured by the MBTA consideration might be given to developing a lighter weight cart (100 pounds) and its deployment to strategic points in the rapid transit system. TORONTO LADDER There are two possible uses for the Toronto Ladder; to facilitate passenger movement from the trainway to the platform in an evacuation, and as an improved emergency exit from the end of a train to the trainway. For stations with inadequate trainway: platform interface The "Toronto Folding Ladder" can be most effective in facilitating the climb from the trainway to the platform. Consideration should be given to deploying these ladders in strategic stations, especially to storing them in the specific stations where the trainway: platform interface is particularly difficult. Use of these ladders throughout the system would provide a consistent form of tramway, platform transit. For train cars The Toronto ladders would represent an improvement in regards to the safety of passengers with disabilities over the emergency ladders presently carried on rapid transit cars. However, the ladders do not fit on the cars and it may prove difficult to deploy and maintain enough of these ladders in trainways and stations to be promptly available in a rapidly escalating emergency. Katherine McGuinness Associates, Inc. 51 MBTA: Equal Access to Safer Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 4. "EVACULATION" TYPE CHAIR These chairs are designed to assist in the emergency evacuation of people who are unable to descend stairs. They enable one operator to evacuate a passenger via stairways. This reduces the personnel required in comparison to two person hand or wheelchair carry methods. These chairs also allow travel across flat surfaces. These chairs are designed to go down stairs. They would be most appropriately used at any station in which stairway descent is required along the evacuation route. Chairs would be stored in locked cabinets at the top of designated preferred evacuation routes. Key access to cabinets would be provided to all responding emergency personnel. Training in proper use of the chair must be provided to MBTA and other responding emergency personnel. These chairs purchased in lots of one or two units cost $869 each. In lots of 25 or more units, they cost $809 each. Evacuation routes that require descending stairs are the exception rather than the norm for rapid transit stations. Evacuation chairs could therefore not be used on a system wide basis. This could present significant problems for training and maintaining proficiency in their use. 5. BULLHORNS The existing public address systems on trains allow train crews to make announcements from train cabs. Central Control can also make announcements over car public address systems. Train crews do not have an effective means of communicating with large numbers of passengers once they leave the cars and move away from the train along the trainway. Deployment of battery operated electric bullhorns on trains and in stations would augment the public address system and increase the ability of emergency response personnel to issue emergency instructions. Bullhorns on trains can be especially important in evacuating passengers along the trainway, where their are numerous obstacles facing both able passengers and passengers with disabilities. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 52 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 Bullhorns would be valuable for the train crew to provide information to a line of passengers evacuating through a tunnel. This is especially true if a crush load of 1200 passengers or more were walking through a long tunnel segment. A waterproof bullhorn (weight: 5 pounds) with 14 watt output, adjustable volume control, trigger switch and anti-feedback circuitry which runs on 12 C batteries cost $254.00. Below is a discussion of three possible alternative deployment strategies: 1) Provide a bullhorn in each cab of each car There are several issues that make deployment of bullhorns in each cab of each train impractical. In addition to the significant expense, developing a method of storage that would both prevent unauthorized use while at the same time providing easy access in an emergency, would be difficult. Permanent storage in the cabs would also present the problem of insuring that the batteries are fully charged. 2) Deployment of bullhorns in selected cabs Though less costly than alternative # 1, deployment in selected cabs would not provide immediate access. In addition, the issues of security and battery maintenance noted above would also apply. 3) Issue bullhorns to train crews for duration of duty This strategy would successfully address the need for immediate access. It would also allow for easier battery maintenance. This method of deployment would create an additional operational load, but would likely prove to be the most effective. In addition, bullhorns could be deployed at key supervisory personnel points. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 53 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 6. PAD AND PENCIL OR ERASABLE TABLET People who are deaf or hard of hearing will not be able to hear emergency announcements on the PA system or instructions from responding personnel. Recognizing that there is a problem, but not understanding what is going on can result in significant anxiety and stress. People who are unable to hear the announcements and instructions will be less able to respond appropriately. A simple means of communicating essential information is needed. MBTA and other safety personnel routinely should have available a pad and pencil to communicate with deaf passengers who can read. An inexpensive alternative is a plastic tablet which can be erased by the top sheet, and an appropriate stylus. The pad and pencil could be deployed in every cab. This strategy addresses the previously discussed problems of deployment in a method that insures availability when needed. The pad and pencil could also be issued to train crews. It should be noted, that not all people can read (see #7, below). 7. PRINTED PICTOGRAPHIC MERGENCY CARDS There are people who can understand neither spoken nor written English. A simple and efficient means of communicating with such passengers would assist both passengers who are deaf and cannot read written English, and passengers who cannot speak English at all. Train crews and fare collectors could have cards containing simple emergency instructions presented in pictographic form for people who cannot read English. Pictographic safety cards are provided to airline passengers. The cards would present simple instructions such as "follow the train crew", "remain with one fellow passenger", or other information which should be the subject of further study. Possible operational constraints on the ability to use such cards in a real time emergency should be noted. There may be neither sufficient time nor personnel available for their distribution. In anticipation of their potential need, emergency information cards could be distributed through disability advocacy groups to passengers with disabilities as part of an outreach program. For distribution during an emergency, emergency information cards could be bound into the "Motorman's Handbook" (the Blue Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 54 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 Book), in such a form that they could be torn out and distributed to passengers as needed. Emergency cards could be developed in English, foreign languages, or braille. All such cards could be used in both emergency response and in public information and education efforts. B. EQUIPMENT MODIFICATIONS 1. TWO WAY ON FARE GATES Gates in fare lobbies only open inwards towards the train area. This could be a serious impediment to disabled passengers during an emergency evacuation. Consideration should be given to mounting these gates on "two-way" hinges so that they can open towards the street as well, permitting easier exit for evacuating passengers. An alternate solution is to manage this problem through procedures to have MBTA crews fix the gates in the open position as soon as an evacuation is declared or it is known that a train to be evacuated will enter a station. 2. IMPROVE TRAIN EMERGENCY LADDERS A variety of ladders are carried in the cabs of the different rapid transit lines. While ladders in general pose serious impediments to a person with a mobility impairment, certain of them are better than others. Handrails are an important factor in the safe use of ladders; they significantly increase a person's ability to balance. They also allow a person to use upper body strength in assisting themselves. Wide non-slip treads allow for secure footing. All cabs should carry an emergency ladder with handrails and wide, non-slip treads. Consideration should be given to replacing or modifying existing ladders which do not meet these criteria. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 55 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 IV. ROLLING STOCK 1. ILLUMINATION AT ENDS OF CARS Evacuation from a train to the trainway is most likely to be carried out through the end doors of the cars. Passengers who are able, will be required to climb down emergency ladders. Passengers who are unable to descend from the car by themselves will be assisted or carried from the car. All of this activity may be carried out in a tunnel section with little ambient light. Lighting that will improve passenger's and personnel's ability to see both the emergency ladder and surrounding trainway can significantly enhance the safety of the evacuation as well as increase the confidence of the passengers. While Orange and Blue Line cars dotted line cars do not have lighting for the platform between cars. These lights are the only direct illumination available for emergency evacuation from the end of a train. The train headlights would blind passengers and personnel on the track and cannot be directed at the car end. Permanent lamps should be installed to illuminate the car end during evacuations, or auxiliary lamps for this purpose should be carried in all cabs. The MBTA in recognition of this problem has specified that lights be a fixed above the door to the anti-climber in new .Red Line car procurements. 2. INSTALL BUFFER PLATE TO NARROW GAP BETWEEN CARS OF A CONSIST The end aprons of train cars are rounded. The gap at the narrowest point between cars is approximately 3". This gap widen to approximately 7"- "9 toward the sides of the cars. These gaps pose a potential hazard to passengers who must move between cars in an emergency. Buffer plates should be considered to be installed between existing cars. Such plates should also be considered to be specified in the procurement of new cars. These plates, used by the New York City Transit Authority and found on commuter rail cars, reduce the car to car gaps to less than one inch. These plates would reduce or eliminate a hazard to mobility and vision impaired passengers when passing between cars. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 56 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 3. MECHANISM ENABLING TRAIN CREW TO BLINK LIGHTS IN EMERGENCY Passengers who are deaf or hard of hearing will not hear or understand emergency announcements made over the public address system. In cars that have scrolling signs, the passenger load may be such that the signs are not visible, and absent some cue, passengers may not look to the sign for information. Passengers have indicated a desire to at least be made aware of an emergency situation. As new cars are procured and older cars modified, consideration should be given to developing a mechanism to blink certain car interior lights to alert deaf and hard of hearing passengers that emergency information is about to be provided. It may be necessary to install new lights which can be blinked from a switch in the cab, especially since the blinking lights should have incandescent rather than neon bulbs, or to modify existing circuits. Blinking lights is a universally known indication to stand by for information and would be readily understood by passengers with a hearing disability or who are deaf as well as by the general passenger population who may be unable to hear the public address system because of ambient passenger or train systems noise. 4. INSTALL PASSENGER: CREW INTERCOM IN ALL CARS MAKE ALL EXISTING INTERCOMS ACESSIBLE TO PASSENGERS WITH DISABILITIES There are two primary reasons that all passengers need to be able to communicate with the train crew: 1) To report an emergency, and 2) To report the need for passenger assistance in an emergency. The second reason is particularly important for people who have disabilities in order to "self-identify" their need for assistance. Only the 01500, 01600 and 01700 series Red Line cars have intercom communications capability between passengers and the train crew. Especially for people with mobility and vision impairments, it would be a great advantage to have intercom communications on all cars of all rapid transit lines. Adding intercoms to existing rolling stock may prove costly and may require keeping existing cars out of service for an additional time during their routine Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 57 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 maintenance. New Red Line car procurements will have passenger: crew intercoms in accessible locations. As noted above, passenger: crew intercoms are an important means of communication between people with disabilities and the train crew. Access to these intercoms for passengers with disabilities should be facilitated. Red Line 01700 series cars have passenger to crew intercoms in a position accessible to a passenger in a wheelchair. Red Line 01500 and 01600 cars have a passenger to crew intercom, but it is mounted in an inaccessible position. Existing intercom positions should be relocated to be accessible, where needed and possible. Adding intercoms to existing rolling stock may prove costly and may require keeping existing cars out of service for an additional time during their routine maintenance. 5. ILLUMINATED SCROLLING SIGNS As noted above, people who are deaf or hard of hearing will not be able to hear emergency announcements on the train public address system. Moving signs could be used in cars to provide emergency information to hearing impaired passengers. These signs would also address any problems with an inaudible public address system. Consideration should be given to providing scrolling signs when existing cars are modified. The new Red Line #3 cars will be equipped with scrolling message signs; two LED signs per car. These signs would be most effective if they were configured m such a way as emergency information can be transmitted either from the train crew or directly from central control. If local access only is provided, the train crews must be able to enter either pre-scripted or unscripted information. Pre-scripted messages regarding evacuation and self-identification of people with disabilities should be available to be transmitted on the scrolling signs either from the train or from Central Control. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 58 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 6. INSTALL ILLUMINATED EMERGENCY EXIT SIGNS AT THE END DOORS OF ALL CARS Instructions to passengers in an emergency may involve moving to one end of the car, or to one end of the train. The identity of car ends is not likely to be obvious to many passengers - that is, which end is "front" or "forward" or which end is "rear" or "rearward". Illuminated EXIT signs should be provided at both ends of the cars. The train crew should be capable of turning these signs on and off so that the direction of evacuation can be made immediately apparent to the majority of passengers. These signs could be most effective in indicating the direction of evacuation from the end of a train. Many passengers may be unable to understand or remember which is the "front" or "rear" of a train if they suffer from a perceptual or cognitive disability. Illuminated exit signs should be installed on all rolling stock during periodic maintenance, and should be specified on all new car procurement. V. TRAINWAYS 1. PERMANENTLY MOUNTED REFLECTORS Certain track and trainway sections will be difficult to negotiate, particularly "Code One" situations. This is especially true of cross-overs, switch sections, and portions of trainways with multiple tracks, and third rails, cables, conduits, and feeder boxes which change sides. Reflectors could be pertinently mounted in selected trainway sections to mark the safest evacuation route. The reflectors should be a color not otherwise used in the system, light blue if possible, and should be mounted so that they reflect back to an individual carrying a flash light. Transitways would have to be evaluated to determine which segments are particularly hazardous and could benefit from permanently installed reflectors. It is not likely that a significant portion of the rapid transit line transitways would require reflectors. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 59 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 Mounting these reflectors will require that MBTA track maintenance personnel keep them clean, check for their proper mounting, and do periodic inventories to replace missing reflectors. Thus, an additional, though small, operational burden would be placed on track maintenance crews. 2. REFLECTORS OR REFLECTIVE PAINT ON TUNNEL WALKWAYS Certain tunnel segments, such as the Red Line extension, have a continuous surface best suited to walking through the trainway. For these tunnel sections, the walkway should be painted with a reflective materials, or reflectors should be mounted on the path at regular intervals. Such marking is an effective means of identifying the safest passage. STATION DESIGN 1. IMPLEMENT VENTING PROGRAM The greatest hazard which can threaten passengers with disabilities on MBTA rapid transit lines is a tunnel or station which is filled with smoke. The most effective way to control this hazard is through a system of vent shaft fans which can be used alone or in combination to remove smoke from the property in a way that threatens the least number of people. The MBTA should as soon as possible implement the recommendations of the "Maguire Report" (1975), to develop a complete system of vent fans for all trainway tunnels. An integrated venting system, regardless of transit line, should be developed, with recommendations on venting configurations for predetermined "Code One"scenarios. The best protection that can be provided passengers with disabilities is to mitigate the hazards they confront. To the extent practical, the MBTA should rake steps to limit the effects of smoke in rapid transit line trainways and stations. This can best be accomplished by completing installation of a system to vent smoke through shafts fitted with exhaust fans. The engineering firm of C.E. Maguire completed in 1975 a study which recommends such a system, however, certain key vent shafts recommended in the Maguire report have not been constructed. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 60 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 At present, the only venting available in case of a smokey fire in certain trainway segments is via the "piston effect" of moving trains. While piston venting can be effective in certain circumstances, It is only effective ff trains are in fact moving; yet a significant fire on a rapid transit line may require that all trains be directed to stop at the nearest safe station. Further, the experience of two major fires on the New York City Transit System in 1990 and 1991 indicate that trains through a smoke-filled tunnel may force smoke into the stations ahead of the train's direction of travel. Completion of the vent system recommended in the 1975 "Maguire Report", with appropriate modifications indicated by more recent study by the MBTA, would represent a major reduction in the risk to passengers with disabilities using rapid transit lines. Along with completion of recommended vent shafts and fans, the MBTA should develop a coordinated venting program for all transit lines, which includes evaluates and recommends venting configurations for various code one scenarios. 2. INSTALL EVACUATION ROUTE MARKERS IN STATIONS The best evacuation routes from stations are not obvious, especially in the more complex stations and for passengers in an unfamiliar station. Permanently mounted signs, symbols, perhaps illuminated, or reflectors could be installed in stations, which designate the best emergency evacuation route. This would be especially important in a smoke filled station when elevators were shut. because passengers with disabilities might instinctively go to the elevator, delaying their evacuation from the station. The elevator m-~y or may not be located along an effective evacuation route. Permanently fixed evacuation route markers, whether reflective, illuminated, or not would be most useful in simple stations with few exits because under "real time" conditions, the designated route might not be the best evacuation path ff there are other options available. If fixed markers are to be installed, each station must be surveyed individually to determine suitability and the best route. Operational issues to be considered are the cleaning and maintenance that such markers would require. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 61 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 3. CONSISTENT STATION DESIGN In an emergency evacuation, many passengers may have to find their way through an unfamiliar station. This may be a particular problem for passengers with disabilities who are confined to using "accessible" stations if they are evacuated through an "inaccessible" station that they have never before seen. The variety of station configurations, as well as individual elements can make finding one's way difficult. Consistent station design in new and renovated stations will help passengers with disabilities feel more secure finding safe passage in station evacuation. Consistent accessible design will enhance the safety of all passengers in an evacuation. Consistent design should extend to building materials and their use, signage, equipment, and exit configurations. This does not, however, mean that all stations must look identical. Providing consistent station design must be viewed in the context of an existing older transit system. ( All modified and new station elements should be accessible. ( All station design consultants should be instructed to only specify floor materials that the manufacturer certifies is non-slip. ( All stations should be provided with audio-visual fire alarms. ( Ascertain that emergency lighting at all stations provide sufficient visibility for passenger evacuation. ( To the extent possible, public address systems should be designed to provide the greatest clarity 4. CONSTRUCT STAIRWAYS WITH HAND-RAILS The current variety of ladders used from the trainway to the platform clearly are points that would become significant bottlenecks in an evacuation. In the ideal situation, a stairway with a fixed hand-rail would be constructed at both ends of each platform, for a total of four. Alternately, one stairway could be constructed at one end of each platform, for a total of two. However, and especially at stations constructed to handle six car trains, this could add a significant walking distance for people with mobility impairments. In stations where a person walking on the tracks can cross to either platform, this additional walking distance would not be a factor if the stairways were built at opposing platform ends. A cost-effective evaluation would have to be made of possible stairway. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 62 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 configurations in each rapid transit station before any construction is undertaken. 5. PROVIDE 36" MINIMUM WIDTH EGRESS ROUTES ON PLATFORMS The path of travel at the ends of several platforms, leading from the top of the trainway: platform transition, is significantly constricted for short segments; in one station, an aisle twelve inches wide and several feet long must be negotiated. Passage at these points would be precarious at best, and would prove to be a significant bottlenecks in the event of an evacuation from the trainway. A minimum passage width of 36" should be provided along all evacuation routes. The cost involved in maintaining this standard at older stations may be significant. Cost is one important factor in evaluating a mitigating strategy such as the use of the Toronto ladder for trainway: plafform transition. Placement of the Toronto Ladder could bypass constricted platform sections. VII. SIGNAGE 1. INSTALL ILLUMINATED SCROLLING SIGNS OR VIDEO MONITORS TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY INFORMATION IN STATIONS AND PLATFORMS Scrolling Signs or video monitors would be a very effective method of providing clear, authoritative emergency information and instructions to all passengers except those who are blind, speak no English, or cannot read. The MBTA has plans to install video monitors in stations which will ordinarily carry advertising and routine information, but could also convey written emergency information and instructions. These monitors will be tied to Central Control, from where commercial messages can be overridden. To serve as emergency information sources, these monitors must be wired to the emergency power system or another uninterruptible electric source. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 63 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 2. ILLUMINATED EXIT SIGNS IN STATIONS. The best emergency evacuation route out of a station is not necessarily obvious. This is especially true at the larger and more complex stations. If passengers choose an evacuation route that includes any significant impediment such as an Iron Maiden where the adjacent gate is locked, lethal consequences may ensue. The choice of an emergency exit is an important decision for each passenger in an emergency evacuation. There are no illuminated emergency exit signs in stations to help passengers find the best and safest station egress. Illuminated emergency exit signs would enhance all passengers' ability to locate the nearest safe exit. The placement of these signs must be determined through a station by station evaluation. 3. CONSISTENT EMERGENCY INSTRUCTION SIGNS ON TRAINS All signs regarding emergency information, such as to follow train crew instructions, or the location and operation of emergency switches and equipment, should be consistent on all rolling stock, should be posted prominently in all cars, and should be posted so that they can be differentiated from advertisements, maps, and other written materials. 4. BRAILLE PLAQUES AT ELEVATORS, "DO NOT USE IN THE EVENT OF FIRE" Braille plaques should be attached at elevator call buttons which instruct passengers not to use the elevator in the event of fire. Katherine McGuinness and Associates 64 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Action Items Evaluated 20 April 1992 VIII. PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION 1. A PROGRAM OF PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATION SHOULD BE DEVELOPED TO INFORM PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ON ISSUES AND METHODS OF PERSONAL PROTECTION IN A RAPID TRANSIT EMERGENCY Creating public awareness of self-protection skills for rapid transit emergencies is an essential component of emergency preparedness. Both information dissemination and training are necessary. Information can be disseminated by the following means, to cite but a few of many possibilities: ( Simple instruction cards in English and foreign languages, braille and pictographs can be distributed; with MBTA passes, at Independent Living Centers (ILDs), and through various organizations serving people who have disabilities or foreign language communities, ( Articles in magazines and newspapers serving disability and foreign language communities and groups, ( Public presentations, and ( An enclosure in the MBTA ACCESS brochure would be an inexpensive and effective means of reaching a targeted user group. The specific content of information cards, articles and presentations would need to be developed. Training of people with disabilities in self-protection skills could be accomplished through several organizations that serve people with disabilities, including Independent Living Centers. The Access Advisory Committee to the MBTA and its subcommittees, can be a particularly appropriate vehicle to provide guidance on passenger training. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 65 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Training 20 April 1992 TRAINING FOR THE EVACUATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES Summary of Current Training New employee training requirements and curricula within the MBTA differ from department to department. All MBTA employees receive a week or more of training in their individual positions. All personnel who work in stations and transitways, or who operate rapid transit trains, receive some training in passenger safety and emergency response. Most personnel receive annual "regaining", generally one to two days, usually split between classroom and "hands on" practical training, such as dismantling equipment and utilizing emergency procedure. Dispatchers at Central Control receive seven weeks of formal training, in addition to the experience gained in their prior positions before being selected as dispatchers. Rapid transit trains all fire departments relative to MBTA emergency response. The current training program of the MBTA for response to emergencies on rapid transit lines can be improved whether or not any of the recommendations contained in this report are implemented. In order to implement the recommended plans and procedures, however, an enhanced training program is required. The goal of the training program should not be the maximum assimilation of factual material. Instead, after training, personnel should have the knowledge, ability, flexibility, and confidence to assess and meet the needs of people with disabilities in rapid transit emergencies. The objectives of the training program should therefore be: ( To make all MBTA personnel aware that people with both visible and invisible disabilities ride the rapid transit lines. ( To make all personnel likely to respond to a rapid transit line emergency better able to identify people with disabilities. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 66 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Training 20 April 1992 ( To make all personnel likely to respond to a rapid transit line emergency better able to communicate with people with disabilities. ( To make all personnel likely to respond to a rapid transit line emergency better able to determine the assistance needed by people with disabilities. ( To make all personnel likely to respond to a rapid transit line emergency better able to assist people with disabilities carry out necessary emergency response actions. A base level of training and core curriculum should be developed that is consistent through the different departments of the MBTA Personnel from several different departments within the MBTA may be called upon to respond in emergencies. Regardless of their position or the nature of their routine assignment, personnel that are at all likely to respond to an emergency should receive training in regards to people with disabilities. For instance, a fare collector may play a significant role in a station evacuation, or a track maintenance crew may be called to assist passengers in a tunnel during an evacuation. Essential to the development of any enhanced training program is consultation with people with disabilities in the development process. 1. Awareness and Identifying people who have disabilities. Many people's idea of who has disabilities is confined to people who use wheelchairs, white canes, or guide dogs. This view is limited and inaccurate. To increase the awareness of personnel to the presence of people with disabilities on the rapid transit lines and to enable personnel to identify them in an emergency situation, personnel must understand the full range of possible disabilities - both invisible as well as visible. It is also important that MBTA personnel understand that it is the functional limitation resulting from the disability that is relevant to assistance required by a passenger. Of equal importance, is to dispel the frequent expectation that because a person has one functional limitation he or she has others - for example, too often people are observed speaking much louder than normal to a person who is blind. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 67 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Training 20 April 1992 A presentation on common disabling conditions would help increase MBTA personnel awareness of people with disabilities. These conditions may include but are not limited to: -Spinal cord injuries Paraplegia Quadraplegia -Sensory Disorders Vision impairments Hearing impairments -Neuromuscular disorders Cerebral Palsy Post polio Multiple Sclerosis Epilepsy Strokes -Mental/Emotional Disorders Mental/Emotional Alheimer's Disease¹ -Respiratory Disorders Emphysema Asthma -Amputations and Use of Prostheses Arms Legs -Cardio-Pulmonary Disorders Heart Disease Exposure to the range of disabling disorders noted above, will help establish the broad population base who's needs must be met. It is likely that personnel will recognize in such a presentation a personal connection - a family member or friend that has one of the conditions. The expansion of the concept of disability can be an important factor in trainee investment in the training program. It also establishes the context for cross disability sensitivity training. The concept of functional limitation as foundation for task based assessment is also an important concept to present. The use of a tool such as The Enabler (see Appendix D) is an effective means of showing how a functional limitation can be caused by several different conditions - for example, difficulty in bending one's knee can be caused by arthritis, a spinal cord injury, or use of an artificial limb. The task based matrix developed for this project would be an excellent source for instructing personnel in the relationship between functional limitations and the tasks passengers may be required to perform in an emergency. ¹ UMTA, Evacuating Elderly and Disabled Passengers from Public Transportation Vehicle Emergencies.Trainer's Handbook, March 1991 Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 68 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Training 20 April 1992 2. Communicating with people with disabilities in emergency situations. Perhaps the most critical element to assuring a safe and effective evacuation is to provide clear, continuous, and authoritative information on emergency conditions and safety instructions. The ability of passengers with perceptual impairments is not often considered in emergency preparedness, however, if someone cannot read, hear, or comprehend emergency information and instructions, their safety will be jeopardized, as will the safety of other near-by passengers. Personnel should be made aware of the disadvantage that people who are deaf or blind are at in receiving emergency announcements and or instructions. To determine the needs of passengers with disabilities, MBTA personnel must learn effective methods of communication. Key to this training is to impart the wide range of abilities of people who have a sensory impairment. Some people who are deaf read lips, some do not. Some people who are deaf can not read, others can. Some people who are blind read braille, others do not. The focus of this training should be on giving personnel a basis for communicating with people who are visually, hearing, speech or cognitively impaired (see Appendix D). 3. Understanding the needs of people with disabilities. The project team does not suggest that it is necessary or even desirable for personnel to be trained in the specific characteristics of different disabling conditions. Essential to the determination of the needs of people with disabilities is for emergency response personnel to be aware that assistance may be required, but not to assume that they know what assistance any one individual needs. Personnel need to know! The single most effective means of determining the needs of an individual in an emergency is to ask the person. In order for a person with a disability to provide appropriate information, he or she must understand the nature of the required task. For example, with a person who uses a wheelchair, "the train is filling with smoke. We are evacuating the train and must get you off. Your wheelchair will not fit through the door. How should we get you off?" It is possible that a person with a disability may state that he or she does not know the most appropriate form of assistance. In such a situation responding personnel must be prepared to make appropriate decisions based on training and experience. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 69 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Training 20 April 1992 4. Providing effective assistance to people who have disabilities in emergency situations. Training to provide safe and effective assistance must include general guidelines regarding conditions that require trained medical assistance. Having identified passengers who have disabilities, and determining the nature of the required assistance, MBTA personnel must be able to provide safe and efficient assistance to accomplish required tasks. This assistance requires an understanding of emergency procedures as well as familiarity with basic assistance techniques. Such techniques may include: ? Techniques for moving a passenger from seat or wheelchair to floor. Techniques for providing walking assistance. ? Techniques for carrying a passenger with a stretcher. ? Techniques for carrying a passenger without a stretcher. ? Techniques for providing guidance to passengers who are blind. ? Techniques for dealing with guide dogs. Guidance should also be presented for "Samaritan" recruitment. This should include a statement informing MBTA personnel and passengers of the limits to their liability when assisting in emergency response. MBTA personnel should all be familiar with stations, rolling stock and trainways. Tours and inspections should be conducted for all rapid transit personnel which include discussions regarding the barriers posed by stations, trainways and rolling stock to the evacuation of people with disabilities. Significant changes made in any of these areas must be communicated to all personnel. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 70 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Training 20 April 1992 TRAINING METHODS To achieve the stated training objectives a range of methods are available. These include: ? Cross-disability sensitivity training ? Drills (including simulations) ? Critiques and debriefings ? Classroom instruction ? Demonstrations ? Tours and Inspections These methods are the same or similar to those the MBTA has used in the past or presently uses in its training programs. Classroom instruction and demonstrations can provide a basic framework and understanding of disability issues as they pertain to emergency response. However, classroom instruction is limited in its ability to help MBTA personnel understand the issues in a "real world" or "real time" context. Cross-disability sensitivity training and incident simulations are the best methods for helping personnel to understand the issues in a way that will be reflected in their actual performance during a genuine emergency. To address evacuation of people with disabilities, simulations should be held that require MBTA personnel to address evacuation of people with disabilities. For reasons of legal liability, people with disabilities should perhaps not participate in an actual emergency drill. Further, anyone is far more likely to be injured during a drill than in an actual emergency. However, it is absolutely essential that people with disabilities serve as official observers and evaluators of drills and exercises, and that their participation as evaluators be made standard. Simulated drills and exercises are costly to organize and nm. The number of people that should be trained and the need for ongoing refresher training can make the appropriate frequency of drills difficult to achieve. An alternative to "real world" simulations is to develop a programmed learning experience. A computer program could be developed that allows personnel to encounter a variety of incidents requiring emergency response. The program could present several variations of each incident. The participant could encounter numerous situations Katherine McGuinness and Associate, Inc. 71 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Training 20 April 1992 involving passengers with different disabilities. The situations and action options presented would be appropriate to specific job functions. The participant would be required to indicate the appropriate action for the given situation. Consequences of these decisions could be shown - both good and bad. Though requiring significant development, such a programmed learning tool could provide excellent long term training opportunities. SUPPORT MATERIALS Several types of material would be appropriate for training support: ? Audio-Visual Materials Includes films, videos, and/or slide presentations. These can be used to illustrate emergency response and procedures. They can be especially useful for refresher training. ? Instruction Manuals May include rule books, guidelines and emergency procedures. Can be used to support classroom instruction and individual study. ? Cheklists/Key action Summaries (could also be included in motorman's Rule Book). Can be used both for classroom and exercise review and ongoing reference. ? Drill Critiques by people who have disabilities. Critiques can be used for ongoing reference and classroom discussion. ? Task Based Matrix Can be used for classroom presentation, discussion and individual study. ? Computer Programs Can be used for individual programmed learning. ? Exercise Design and Evaluation Criteria To assure that exercises and drills provide a meaningful experience for all participants. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 72 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Training 20 April 1992 ? Articulated Policy for Training of Rapid Transit Line Employees in Emergency Preparedness and Response To insure that system wide, all aspects of the training program are directed at achieving the same goals. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 73 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Conclusion 20 April 1992 CONCLUSION In recent years, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has significantly enhanced the accessibility of its rapid transit lines to passengers with disabilities. An ever increasing number of people with disabilities are using the system and this number will increase as the MBTA continues with its policy of making the system even more accessible. As the MBTA has endeavored to implement a policy equal access to transit, so the Authority is now addressing the issue of equal access to safety for all transit passengers. This project addresses the matter of the safety of rapid transit passengers with disabilities in an emergency evacuation of a rapid transit train or station. In undertaking this project, all aspects of emergency evacuation were studied, including examination of plans and procedures for emergency response, MBTA personnel training, and the conditions of rapid transit rolling stock, trainways, and stations. The perspective taken in this examination was to develop a conceptual model of the actions a passenger would have to take in an emergency evacuation, and to compare those steps to the capabilities of individuals who have any of a number of physical, perceptual, and cognitive impairments. This task-based analysis was employed to avoid the critical error of making assumptions about the self-protective capabilities of individuals. That is, we avoided assuming that an individual with an obvious disability was incapable of certain actions, and we avoided assuming that a person with no obvious disability was capable of all emergency evacuation actions. In assessing the barriers and impediments to emergency evacuation, numerous actions were explored which the MBTA could implement to enhance the safety of passengers with disabilities in an emergency evacuation. From these actions, a package of recommendations was developed which together could provide the greatest enhancement to safety. These recommendations include: ? Changes to emergency plans and procedures ? Changes to personnel training programs ? Procurement of new equipment ? Modifications to rolling stock ? Modifications to trainways Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 74 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Conclusion 20 April 1992 ? Modifications to stations ? New and modified signage ? Development of a public education program regarding the safety of passengers with disabilities. In addition, recommendations were made regarding coordination of emergency preparedness and training throughout the MBTA, the provision of authoritative information in an emergency situation, the venting of smoke from tunnels and stations, and a process to discuss self-protection with people who have disabilities and will ride the rapid transit system. It is not necessary to implement all of the recommendations to enhance passenger safety. Certain of these recommendations can be acted upon immediately. Other recommendations will need policy consideration by the MBTA, entail capital outlay. or require changes to operational procedures or maintenance programs. However, the recommendations should be viewed as a unified program, in which, for instance, training recommendations are made in support of new procedures, and new procedures are recommended in support of new or modified equipment. It is certain that the safety of passengers with disabilities can be enhanced in a rapid transit line emergency evacuation. In the course of this project it has also become apparent that actions taken by the MBTA to improve the safety of passengers with disabilities will improve the safety of all passengers. It is our belief that by acting on of all or any of the recommended actions in this report, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will take major strides in improving the security of all its customers who use rapid transit. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 75 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Bibliography 20 April 1992 BIBLIOGRAPHY UMTA, U.S. DOT, Recommended Emergency Preparedness Guidelines for Urban, Rural. and Specialized Transit Systems U.S. Department of Transportation Research and Special Programs Administration, National Transportation Systems Center, Cambridge. MA. January. 1991 Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Metrorail Emergency Metrorail Training Manual, Washington, DC, March 14, 1989 The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, MARTA Plan (preliminary), Atlanta. GA Hughes Associates, Inc. Egress Procedures and Technologies for People with Disabilities: Final Report of a State-of-the-Art Review with Recommendations for Action, Wheaton, Maryland, October, 1988 Hughes Associates, Inc. Egress Procedures and Technologies for People with Disabilities: Literature Review, Wheaton, Maryland, September, 1988 Jake Pauls and Edwina Juillet, Recent Social and Technological Development Influencing the Life Safety of People with Disabilities, The Building Official and Code Administrator, July/August, 1990 The Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Access Needs of Blind and Visually Impaired Travellers in Transportation Terminals: A Study and Design Guidelines, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, December, 1987 The Canadian Hearing Society and The Behavioural Team, Intercity Travel and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Traveller (An analysis of the Current State of Accessibility), Toronto. Ontario, Canada, March, 1990 Boston College, Solutions for Problems of Visually Impaired Users of Rail Rapid Transit, Vol. I, Chestnut Hill, MA, August, 1981 Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 76 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Bibliography 20 April 1992 Boston College, Information About Visual Impairment for Architects and Transit Planners, Vol. II, Chestnut Hill, MA, August, 1981 UMTA, U.S. DOT, Pedestrian Falling Accidents in Transmit Terminals, New York, NY, December, 1985 Ira Winakur, Transportation Needs of Deaf People Office of Demographic Studies, Gallaudet College, Washington, DC. May, 1977 Georgia Institute of Technology, College of Architecture, Provisions for Elderly and Handicapped Pedestrians (Hazards, Barriers, Problems, and the Law) Vol. 2, Atlanta. GA, May, 1980 UMTA, U.S. DOT, Evacuation and Rescue of Elderly and Disabled Passengers from Paratransit Vans and Buses, Cambridge, MA, January, 1990 UMTA, U.S. DOT, Recommended Emergency Preparedness Guidelines for Rail Transit Systems, Cambridge, MA, April, 1989 Senior Services of Snohomish County, Evacuating Elderly and Disabled Passengers from Public Transportation Vehicle Emergencies Trainer's Handbook Lynnwood, WA, March, 1991 Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 77 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress Glossary 20 April 1992 GLOSSARY AACT Anti-climber Ballast Ballasted bed Cab Central Control Conduits Cross-overs Direct-fixed bed Feeder-boxes Feeder cables FRACAS FTA Iron Maiden MARTA Open Transitways Piston venting Portal areas Project ACTION Switch sections UMTA WMATA Wiggles Weezie-bonds - Access Advisory Committee to the MBTA - Section of train car located between the operator's cab and the coupling device to prevent cars from "telescoping" or climbing on top of each other in the event of a crash - Broken stone that gives support to ties and rails - Right-of-way where rails are connected to ties on a bed of broken stone - Section of car where the motorman operates train and portion of a train car where all train operation controls are located - MBTA's coordination arm which is charged with the safe and timely conveyance of passengers. - Pipes, encased in concrete, that contain electrical cables - Section of the right-of-way that allows a train to cross to a parallel track - Right-of-way where rails are fastened to a concrete slab - Continuous box along trainway that covers power cables feeding current to the third rail - Cables that supply power to the third rail - Fixed Route Advisory Sub-Committee of AACT - U.S. Federal Transportation Administration (previously UMTA) - Full-bodied turnstyle which allows passage only in one direction - Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority - Any rapid transit tracks not in a tunnel - Venting smoke from a tunnel by propelling it in from of a moving train - Point where subway ends and opens trainway begins - A cooperative venture between the Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) and the Easter Seals Society to improve access to transportation - Track segments on which rolling stock can be moved from one track to another - U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (now the FTA) - Washington, Metropolitan Area Transit Authority - Tools for testing to determine if third rail is energized - Computerized devices in the right-of-way which transmit speed codes to rapid transit cars Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 78 MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress APPENDIX A Responsibility Matrix Task-Based Matrix Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. RESPONSIBILITY MATRIX TASK-BASED MATRIX TAASKED-BASED MATRIX MBTA: Equal Access to Safe Egress APPENDIX B Interview Summary Station Emergency Egress Audit Report Rolling Stock Audit Report Trainway Audit Report Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. Architectural Accessibility Programs Space Planning MBTA: Emergency Evacuation for People With Disabilities INTERVIEW SUMMARY 26 March 1992 Southeastern Representative 3505 South Ocean Drive, Penthouse Six Hollywood. FL 33019 305-925-9141 267 Moody Street Waltham, MA 02154 TDD 617-647-0809 FAX 617-647-7836 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 INTERVIEW SUMMARY Key personnel of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority were interviewed on February 21, 24. 28. and March 2, 1992. In addition, passengers with disabilities who regularly ride rapid transit lines were interviewed, as were representatives of other transit properties. The following individuals each spent an hour or more in discussions regarding emergency preparedness to assist people with disabilities in the event of an emergency on an MBTA rapid transit line: ( Ms. Mary Lou Daly, MBTA, Assistant Manager, Office of Transportation Assistance ( Mr. Richard Haverty, MBTA, Manager, Maintenance of Way Training, Maintenance and Engineering Department ( Mr. Robert Seller, MBTA, Automotive Instructor, Examiner ( Mr. Kevin Doyle, MBTA, Chief Supervisor of Rapid Transit Line Training ( Mr. John Killgoar, MBTA, Superintendent of Rail Lines, Transportation Department ( Mr. William Shannon, MBTA, Supervisor of Vehicle and Passenger Safety, Safety Department ( Mr. Charles Steward, MBTA, Assistant Director of Construction for Development ( Ms. Sarah Campbell, MBTA, Project Manager ( Mr. Michael Francis, MBTA, Superintendent of Central Control ( Mr. Jeff Grant, Chairman, FRACAS ( Mr. Ralph Steele, Vice Chairman, AACT ( Ms Denise Karuth ( Ms. Melba Bayne, Senior Mechanical Engineer, Washington. D.C., Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority; ( Mr. Robert Almond, Parsons Brinkerhoff (previously with Systems/Safety Group, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.) ( Ms. Yvonne Dunkler, Massachusetts Rehabilitation Services, Unit Supervisor for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services ( Ms. Barbara Chandler, Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, Planner Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 1 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 Interviewees were first asked very general questions about their roles and the roles of the divisions they represent during an emergency, and how best to evacuate passengers with disabilities. The interviewers encouraged discussion of any problems that would inhibit the safe evacuation of passengers with disabilities, as well as solutions to these problems. Suggestions regarding current emergency procedures and hardware improvements were solicited. In addition, the interviewees were asked about personnel training requirements and staffing levels in their respective departments. Comments are summarized and organized by topic area, below. GENERAL MBTA EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE POLICIES Several specific policies regarding emergency preparedness which are directly relevant to this project were articulated by the MBTA personnel interviewed. Some of these policies are matters of record, while others are standard practice. However, it must be noted that virtually all responsible MBTA personnel, when discussing general emergency policy, expressed their understanding that policies can and should be enforced only to the extent that they protect passenger safety, and that emergency response decisions would be dictated by the real-time and -place conditions of an incident or event. Some of these key policy statements include; ( Whenever possible during an emergency, passengers will remain in the train and the train will be directed to the nearest safe station. ( If a train must be evacuated, it is preferred to remove passengers from the from or rear of the train and have them walk to the nearest safe station. ( Evacuation of one train to a parallel train remains a possible recommended protective action, at the discretion of Central Control when train and track conditions permit. However, the equipment routinely used for this operation, a detachable seat back, is no longer awtl~ble, but improvisation is possible. ( Central Control will provide emergency information requested by train crews or track or station personnel. If they have been summoned, the fire department has on-site cornm~nd of an emergency situation in MBTA transitways and facilities. Fire department command includes operation of tunnel venting systems, in consultation with Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 2 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 Central Control. ( Central Control maintains direct communications with local fire departments. ( All MBTA train, track, and station personnel are required to assist in emergency response during their duty hours. CONCERNS OF PASSENGES WITH DISABILITIES Interviews were held with people with disabilities who regularly ride MBTA rapid transit lines. These passengers expressed the importance of having trained, confident, and sensitive personnel available to identify and assist passengers with disabilities in emergency situations. Two main concerns which make this imperative are that 50% to 60% of passengers with disabilities do not have any readily observable impairment, and that the particular assistance required by a passenger with an identified or apparent disability may not be intuitively obvious. One strong concern expressed by passengers with disabilities is that personnel who will assist them should know to ask first, "How may I help you?," as opposed to assuming that they know what to do, no matter how well they are trained. Each individual using a wheelchair may have specific requirements for the manner by which he or she should be taken from the chair. There are better and worse ways of guiding individuals who are blind or have a vision impairment, and there are more than one sign language spoken by the deaf. Thus, no one, professional or layman, responding to an emergency should assume that he or she knows "best" how to aid a passenger with a disability. Passengers with disabilities stressed the importance of training emergency response personnel in dealing with passengers with disabilities. Two matters should be emphasized in this training. First, that passengers with disabilities may not be readily identified: a person may have difficulty walking but not use a cane, walker, crutches, or a chair; a passenger may be able to see in well lighted areas, but be effectively blind in dim light; a person may be deaf but move through the transit system with no difficulty, et cetera. Second, passengers with obvious disabilities may not in fact require special assistance at all. On person interviewed noted that a person with a vision impairment might be better able to navigate in a dark tunnel than a fully sighted person. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 3 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 TRANSITWAY AND STATION CONDITIONS AND CHARACTERISTICS Several interviews revealed that the characteristics of transitways will very much effect the safe evacuation of people with difficulties in the event of an incident on a rapid transit line. Not the least of these conditions is the type of bed under the track; either balasted or direct fixed. The crushed stone of a balasted track bed could prove a difficult walking surface for people with mobility or vision impairments. However, it was noted that balasted track is preferred over direct fixed track because it is easier and less expensive to build and maintain. While, on the other hand, it is easier to adjust car height on directly fixed track to maintain accessibility requirements. Other impediments to walking "between the rails" include track switches, and "weezie boxes", which are located between the rails, and which could severely hamper passage in a dark or smokey tunnel. Track switches and electrical Junction boxes are found at intervals within the tracks, and construction and maintenance equipment may be found along tunnel walls and elsewhere in the right of way. The steepest grade of any rapid line track segment is about 5%, One MBTA employee observed that the icing of tracks, feeder boxes, and platforms in open cut areas would prove especially hazardous to people with disabilities. Some MBTA personnel during their interviews expressed a preference for moving evacuated passengers along the feeder box as opposed to within the tracks. Electrical feeder boxes, varying in width according to transit line, but generally a fiat concrete surface, run semi-continuously through tunnels. Feeder boxes have gaps which are usually, but not always, grated gaps. However, the feeder boxes, while a paved surface, can be too narrow for safe pedestrian passage, may have ungrated gaps, and switch sides of the track. In addition, repair and maintenance equipment may be stored on the feeder box. Safety niches in tunnel walls are designed only to provide temporary refuge for track workers while trains pass. Safety niches are open to the tunnel and sometimes have maintenance and construction supplies and equipment stored within them. Several people interviewed indicated that safety niches would not be appropriate places of refuge in a smoke-filled tunnel. Emergency exits are located at different but regular intervals along all tunnels. Emergency exit gates are located at regular intervals along open cut transitways. Emergency exits cannot be accessed from street without a key but panic hardware Katharine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 4 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 release on inside will open door regardless of whether the door is locked on the street side. All emergency exit shafts from tunnels have secured doors only at the street level, and are open to the tunnels. New emergency exit shafts, those along the Harvard to Alewife tunnel on the Red Line and the Southwest Corridor of the Orange Line, have baffles to reduce smoke intrusion. Two factors are said to militate against use of emergency exits during a code 1 emergency. First, because the emergency exits are open at the bottom, they would act as a chimney when opened at the top, filling with smoke and endangering anyone in the shaft. Second, the emergency exit shafts may be very deep and pose a significant barrier to passengers who have mobility impairments. Interviewers were told of one actual incident in which passengers were evacuated through an emergency exit shaft, during which rescue teams had to be dispatched to assist several passengers who could not climb all the way to the street. Flooding has not been observed as a severe problem on the rapid transit lines, though it is a problem on the Green Line. Most tunnel sections do have adequate drainage, and an auxiliary pump mounted on rapid transit line trucks is available. Several official interviewed expressed concern that passengers with disabilities might have difficulty climbing from track level to the station platform if passengers are evacuated from a train and moved through the transitway to the nearest safe station. The transitway:platform interface varies from station to station, ranging from concrete stairs with railings to simple rebar rungs in the walls. Certain stations have gates or other obstructions between the platform and transitway. A number of individuals expressed concern that making it easier to get from the track to the platform will make it easier for unauthorized personnel to get from the platform to the track and, thus, preferred ladders and ladder variants to stairs at the track to platform interface. The Maintenance of Way Department is responsible for maintaining the cleanliness and accessibility of the right of way and emergency exits. The Safety Department conducts visual inspections of the right of way for debris and lighting. The maintenance department maintains a "tagging" system on tunnel repairs that is controlled by computer. Any inspections are checked against the computerized maintenance network and any open items found by Safety are added to the computerized net for tagging, repair, and closeout. In winter, the temperature of typical tunnel section may be as cold as 40 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit, except in portal Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 5 Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1902 or platform areas, which may be warmer. There are no provisions for warming transitway or platform areas. The conditions of transitways may vary widely from day to day and throughout hours of operation. There is no provision for maintaining temperature in platform area or right of way. The Maintenance Department measures raft to platform gaps in each station. Stations through which balasted track passes need occasional adjustment, while direct fixed track is fairly stable. One individual from the Safety Department conducts audits of all rapid transit stations, as well as 10,000 MBTA bus stops. Regular rapid transit station inspections are visual and aural in nature. There are two rapid transit inspectors and Safety has an inspector who is charged with surface inspections. Station maintenance is now performed by private contractors, but stations are inspected by MBTA personnel for general safety and cleanliness. Escalators and elevators are inspected by Commonwealth officials, but the equipment is maintained by private contractors. Station inspectors have the ability and equipment to shut down elevators and to stop, start, and reverse escalators in an emergency. All stations have public address systems, but no specific provisions were mentioned for communicating with people who are deaf or bard of hearing in an emergency situation. Similarly, while many rapid transit cars have external public address speakers, it was noted that currently here are no provisions for communicating with people who are deaf or hard of hearing in the transitways between stations. The worst-case accident scenario is a Code 1, smoke-filled tunnel situation. The second worst-case scenario would be a station fire at State Street, for example, where obvious passenger egress routes are, at best, confusing. Unlike the Orange and the Red Line, the Blue Line does not have Automatic Train Operation (ATO), a centralized indicator system displayed at Central Control. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 6 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 TRAIN AND CAR CONDITIONS There are 404 operating heavy rag vehicles. Rapid transit line inspections include passenger flow and car-to-platform gap surveys to determine if accessibility standards are met. Each motorman is expected to conduct a daily operating inspection of the rolling stock under his or her control before entering into service. However, a full-scale safety inspection of each vehicle is performed once per year. The Red and Orange line trains are four or six cars in length. The Blue line uses four-car trains, but modifications to stations are planned to accommodate six-car trains on the Blue Line. All trains run in "married pairs", that is, every two cars can together run independently, if required. Every train has a public address and intercom system. The public address system is also the radio link to Central Control, but communications between the train crew and Central Control can be shut off from passenger areas. However, the intercom system can also be used for Central Control to communicate directly with passengers. All Red Line cars have a passenger intercom system (except the No. 5 cars) through which 'passengers can communicate directly with the train crew. Every cab has a car-to-car and car-to-Central Control radio link. However, currently there are no provisions for communications with people who are deaf and hard of hearing on a rapid transit train in an emergency situation. A system for securing wheel chairs is available on Red Line No. 2 cars, and unsecured wheel chair positions are available on certain other Red Line cars. The wheel chair securing system is a clamp and single seat belt system. It is possible that any additional hardware or equipment identified for use as a result of this project could be manufactured in the MBTA shop. Wheel chair positions may not be ideally situated to assist evacuation of passengers using chairs. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 7 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 TUNNEL VENTING Smoke in a tunnel, a "Code 1" emergency, represents an extremely hazardous situation for all passengers, but especially for passengers with a disability. Thus, the capability to vent smoke from tunnels and stations becomes a critical factor in emergency response. One critical aspect of rapid transit line tunnels which merged during several interviews is the ability to vent smoke from the tunnels. The ability of 'T" or Ere department personnel to vent smoke from tunnels without drawing smoke either into or through stations varies in portions of the rapid transit line tunnels. The engineering firm of C.E. Maguire developed in 1975 a report on venting and a plan for a fan system to vent smoke out of tunnels. The vent system recommended in the Maguire study has not yet been fully installed, and there are portions of the downtown system which must still be vented using the 'piston' system of pressure from moving trains to vent smoke from tunnels. However, ff trains are not moving through the tunnels, piston venting cannot be accomplished. For tunnel sections where vent shafts are operational, vents can be controlled by. either a "local fire management panel", or by a Ere management panel at Central Control The local Ere department or 'T' personnel on-site responding to an emergency can operate the vent fans via the local fire management panel. If venting is required prior to arrival of the fire department, Central Control can operate the appropriate fans from 45 High Street. RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS For an incident occurring in a rapid transit line facility or fight-of-way, the principal "first response" public safety emergency is the local fire department. Central Control maintains direct communications with each relevant fire department through the alarm officer. The Central Control Dispatcher maintains continuous communications with the appropriate city alarm officer during an incident. When the alarm officer receives notification that the fire department is on site, command for incident response is transferred from Central Control to the fire department. Response time to an incident scene by the Boston or Cambridge Fire Department is said to be five minutes or less under most circumstances. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 8 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 Central Control has initiated a regular quarterly meeting with Boston and Cambridge Fire Departments to discuss emergency preparedness and response, and related issues. Nonetheless, certain essential protocols have been established and work well, including; ( Deenergization of the third rail by MBTA personnel prior to fire fighters entering a tunnel. ( During an emergency, Central Control sends a senior official, usually the Deputy Superintendent of Central Control or a District Supervisor, to the emergency site. ( Central Control maintains open emergency communications with fire fighting personnel on-site via the appropriate alarm officer. ( MBTA police coordinate emergency response activities with local police. ( The ranking fire fighter on site declares the emergency secure. Some MBTA departments have regularly scheduled drills with the Boston and Cambridge Fire Departments. Motormen, guards, and other T personnel are rotated through the drill program. An "in-tunnel" drill scheduled on the Orange Line this spring will involve a local Fire Department. Boston Fire Department personnel receive approximately one day of training per year regarding emergency response to a tunnel incident on the MBTA. For Rapid Transit lines, there are one or two drills each month with local fire department personnel and all fire fighting personnel are rotated through the system. Several MBTA departments participate in these drills, including Safety, Rapid Transit Line Training, and Central Control The MBTA meets with Boston and Cambridge Fire Department representatives on a regular basis to discuss operations and training. The Superintendent of Rail Lines trains Fire Department and Health & Hospitals emergency medical system personnel. Once Fire Department personnel arrive at an incident scene, they assume control of the situation. The Boston and Cambridge Fire Departments have an MBTA accident standard operating procedure that they follow. Generally, their first action is to cut power to the third rail. The Fire Department usually dedicates a firefighter to the station fire control panel. The Boston and Cambridge Fire Departments are responsible for calling their respective police departments, if necessary. Emergency Medical Services for the City of Boston are provided under contract by the Department of Health and Hospitals and are adequate. Cambridge emergency medical systems are adequate. Emergency medical system personnel receive the same training Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 9 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 as fire department personnel. Emergency medical system personnel are not involved in pulling power switches, or anything to do with electrical power. Their mission is strictly rescue. TRAINING New employee training requirements within the MBTA differ from department to department. All MBTA employees receive a week or more of training in their individual positions. All personnel who work in stations and transitways, or who operate rapid transit trains, receive some training in passenger safety and emergency response. Most personnel receive annual 'retraining', generally one to two days, usually split between classroom and "hands on" practical training, such as dismantling equipment and utilizing emergency procedure. Dispatchers at Central Control receive seven weeks of formal training, in addition to the experience gained in their prior positions before being selected as dispatchers. The Surface Line Training Department trains local fire and emergency medical system departments within the MBTA's operating Jurisdiction. There are 16 surface line instructors, with 8 certified to offer emergency training. This department utilizes videos on test burns, slide presentations on bus specifications and system overrides as well as live trainers. All bus training, annual retraining for T personnel and fire or rescue personnel is accomplished in one day. The training curriculum makes use of UMTA materials. T Police officers receive training from the Rapid Transit Line instructors for one day of classes at frequent intervals. There is a one-half day training session on assisting elderly passengers and passengers with special needs which includes a video presentation, sensitivity training, and the operation of lilts. It was suggested that we examine training material used for "The Ride" personnel training is provided by private contractors. There was a major drill held June 14, 1991, in Arlington, involving area fire departments. This drill included emergency evacuation of passengers, using members of the public, all of whom signed release form, acting as passengers. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 10 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 EMERGENCY OPERATING PROCEDURES AND PERSONNEL In any tunnel emergency, MBTA policy is to try and direct affected trains to the nearest safe station. However, if conditions require evacuation of a train in the tunnel, the third raft must be deenergized prior to moving passengers into the transitway. The third rail may deenergized either from Central Control or from a local control box. Before a section of track is deenergized, Control must determine that all other trains on the line have gone to a safe station. The Maintenance of Way department has approximately 44 system repairmen (trackmen) on the day shift to cover all rapid transit lines. These personnel are available to respond to emergencies. Fewer trackmen are available during off-peak hours. Platform personnel include Inspectors who are station officials. One inspector covers each major station during peak hours of operation, and one inspector is available for every three stations during off-peak hours. All station officials carry portable radios. Central Control personnel make initial emergency response decisions, such as venting of smoke. Whenever possible, trains are directed to proceed to the nearest station. Crossing tracks to a parallel train still exists as a procedure, but is no longer used and is no longer feasible in many areas that have been modified and because of equipment modifications. The "Motorman's Handbook", known as the "Blue Book", details emergency procedures for operational personnel. There is a new motorman's procedure book currently being prepared, and it is expected to be available within a few weeks. The "Red Book" contains procedures for MBTA Officials; that is, starters, inspectors, instructors, and yardmen. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 11 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT Emergency phones are located at regular intervals along rapid transit line tracks. However, only certain track sections have "blue light" emergency phones. The Section Foreman is the only individual with immediate access to the transitway who carries a portable radio. There is one Section foreman per rapid transit line during hours of operation. All personnel should have "wiggies" to test third rail. A variety of emergency ladders are carried on rapid transit line cars. A ladder is available in the cab of each car. These ladders would be used to evacuate passengers from the end of a train. The characteristics and quality of emergency ladders will have a great impact on their effectiveness for evacuating people with disabilities from trains to tracks, and the various ladders should be examined closely. The MBTA has available for testing a new ladder from the Toronto rapid transit system, however, it has not been determined if this ladder can be carried on existing or proposed rapid transit cars, nor has its effectiveness if stored in stations or the transitway been evaluated. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) has a cart which can be pushed along the rails, and which can be used to evacuate people with disabilities. WMATA has available about 135 of these stretchers-on-wheels, and would like to have two in each station, one at each end of the platform. WMATA officials expressed no reservations about their ability to control access to and use of the carts, which are kept in locked boxes. An engineer who has worked with the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority expressed reservations about whether or not the location of an evacuation cart within the transitway could be determined. Some MBTA personnel suggested that the WMATA-type evacuation carts be used for evacuating mobility-impaired persons. Safety personnel said that, ideally, an evacuation cart should weigh approximately 100 pounds, but have a carrying capacity of 1,000 lbs. In the case of WMATA, the fire department uses the carts and they are able to transport four people at one time. All MBTA operators are asked to carry pens and pads of paper to be used to communicate with deaf or hard of hearing passengers. Some kind of writing system to communicate with passengers should be considered for rapid transit line personnel. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 12 MBTA: Emergency Evacuation of People with Disabilities Interview Summary 26 March 1992 However, training in the identification of people with hearing disabilities and the etiquette of communications with the deaf and hard of hearing should be offered to all personnel. PUBLIC INFORMATION REGARDING EMERGENCY EVACUATION OF PASSENGERS WITH DISABILITIES No brochures or other public information is available for passengers with disabilities regarding their safety in an emergency. Public information is available regarding accessibility of all MBTA facilities and vehicles. There are no specific signs on trains or in stations which address safety of people with disabilities. The Office of Transportation Access will be producing a pamphlet on Project ACTION results which may include emergency procedures and recommendations for rapid transit passengers with disabilities. General customer information is published in various languages by the MBTA. It was suggested that the MBTA might possibly want to place emergency information on cards and have available inside trains. Katherine McGuinness and Associates, Inc. 13