Evacuation Chair Requirements in Ireland

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 add detail: Regulation 12 (Emergency routes and exits), Regulation 13 (Fire detection and fire fighting) and Regulation 25 (Employees with disabilities) specifically.

This is a separate legal area to workplace first aid under S.I. No. 299 of 2007 — see our Irish Workplace First Aid Regulations guide for that side of things. In a genuine fire emergency, call 112/999.

HSA guidance is direct on this point: "If there are disabled persons on your premises then their needs must be taken into account when planning an evacuation strategy." It goes on to note that a wide range of possible disabilities may need to be considered — including people who simply have less mobility because of age, a temporary injury, or pregnancy.

A Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is an individual plan for one named person who cannot evacuate unaided — setting out the assistance, route and equipment they'll need to reach a place of safety.

Building Regulations Technical Guidance Document M (Access and Use) is also worth consulting alongside your PEEP, particularly for building layout and accessible routes.

A wheeled evacuation chair lets one or two people safely carry someone who cannot use the stairs down a stairwell to a place of safety, without needing a lift (which should never be used during a fire evacuation). It's one practical way to close the gap the law describes in Section 01 — not the only way, and not specifically named in Irish legislation, but a common and effective answer once your risk assessment identifies the need.

See our range of evacuation chairs at Evacuation Chairs — capacity, dimensions and certification vary by model, so check the individual product page for the specifics of each chair.

Your fire safety risk assessment should guide the decision, but generally worth considering:

• How many you need — based on building layout, number of floors, and how many people may need assistance at once.
• Where it's stored — close to the stairwell it will be used on, clearly signed, and never obstructing the escape route itself.
• Who's trained to use it — an evacuation chair is only useful if staff know how to deploy and operate it under pressure.
• Servicing — like any other means-of-escape equipment, it needs regular checks (see Section 06).

HSA's own emergency escape checklist asks two questions directly relevant to evacuation chairs:

In practice: whoever is trained to operate the chair should practise with it, not just read the instructions once, and the chair itself should be part of your routine fire-safety equipment checks alongside extinguishers, alarms and emergency lighting.

Are evacuation chairs a legal requirement in Ireland?

Irish law does not name evacuation chairs specifically. What it requires is that every workplace has an adequate emergency evacuation plan that takes account of anyone who cannot escape unaided, under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and the General Application Regulations 2007. An evacuation chair is one practical way many workplaces meet that duty, decided by risk assessment.

What is a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP)?

A PEEP is an individual plan for a specific person who cannot evacuate a building unaided, setting out the assistance, equipment and route they need to reach a place of safety. The National Disability Authority publishes a PEEP template and risk assessment checklist for this purpose.

Who decides if a workplace needs an evacuation chair?

It's decided through the employer's fire safety risk assessment, considering the building's layout, who uses it, and whether anyone present cannot use the stairs unaided in an emergency.

Does evacuation equipment need to be checked regularly?

Yes. The HSA's guidance requires that all equipment provided to help means-of-escape arrangements is regularly checked, alongside staff training in its use and regular evacuation drills.