Evacuation Chair Training Course

What's Included

Your course fee includes everything you need for effective training:

• Comprehensive Course Materials - printed handouts and reference documentation

• CPD Certificate - accredited by the CPD Standards Office (Provider No. 22657)

• Phoenix STS Training Certificate - valid for 2 years from date of completion

• Hands-On Practical Training - with evacuation chairs and rescue manikins

• On-Site: Your Equipment - training conducted on your building's own evacuation chairs and stairways

• Public Courses: All Equipment Provided - evacuation chairs and manikins supplied at our Longford training centre

• Post-Course Email Support - direct access to your instructor for guidance after completing the course

• Renewal Reminder Service - we'll contact you approximately six months before your certificate expires

What You'll Learn

The course covers five core areas, combining theoretical knowledge with extensive practical skills development.

Evacuation Chair Fundamentals

The types of evacuation chairs and their features. How chairs fit within your building's emergency evacuation plan. The legal context for providing them under Irish health and safety law.

Pre-Use Checks and Risk Assessment

Step-by-step pre-use inspections. How to identify faults and judge serviceability. Dynamic risk assessment during an evacuation, and route planning that includes the stairway.

Safe Operation Techniques

Unfolding, setting up, and positioning the chair for passenger transfer. Safe manual handling techniques for transfers with varying mobility levels. Securing passengers safely with restraints and harnesses.

Stair Descent and Emergency Deployment

Controlled stair descent and braking. Managing speed. Navigating obstacles on stairs and landings. Single-operator and two-operator descent methods.

Communication and Passenger Care

Reassuring the passenger throughout. Giving clear verbal instructions. Coordinating with other responders, and handing over after the evacuation.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify chair types and features, and select the right model for your building
• Perform pre-use checks to confirm the evacuation chair is safe and ready for deployment
• Conduct a dynamic risk assessment of the evacuation route, including stairway conditions
• Deploy the evacuation chair correctly, including unfolding, positioning, and passenger transfer
• Operate the chair safely on level surfaces and during controlled stair descent
• Apply safe manual handling techniques that protect both operator and passenger
• Communicate with passengers, giving reassurance and clear instructions
• Understand your legal duties under Irish health and safety law

Course Programme

The 6-hour programme combines classroom theory with extensive hands-on practical training.

Morning Session: Theory and Demonstration

• Welcome and course introduction
• Types of evacuation chairs: tracked, wheeled, and combination models
• Legislative framework: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 and General Application Regulations 2007
• Pre-use checks and fault identification
• Instructor demonstration: deployment, transfer, descent, and recovery
• Dynamic risk assessment during evacuation

Afternoon Session: Practical Training and Assessment

• Hands-on practice: chair deployment and passenger transfer
• Level surface manoeuvring exercises
• Supervised stair descent practice (individual and paired)
• Braking and obstacle navigation
• Communication and passenger reassurance techniques
• Practical assessment: each participant demonstrates safe evacuation technique
• Course conclusion and certificate information

Irish Compliance Context

Irish employers have clear legal duties on emergency evacuation. Those duties cover everyone, including people with mobility impairments.

Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005

Under Section 8 of the 2005 Act, employers must protect the safety, health, and welfare of all employees so far as is reasonably practicable. That includes a safe way out of the building in an emergency. In plain terms: if someone cannot use the stairs unaided, you must plan how they will get out.

General Application Regulations 2007

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 require employers to set up emergency procedures and appoint competent people for evacuation duties. Every employee must be able to evacuate safely, including those with mobility impairments. In plain terms: someone in your building must be trained and ready to use the equipment.

Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003

The Fire Services Act 1981 and Fire Services (Amendment) Act 2003 place duties on anyone in control of a premises. They must take reasonable measures to guard against fire and keep people on the premises safe if fire breaks out. In plain terms: the duty covers visitors and customers, not just staff.

HIQA Regulation 28 (Healthcare Facilities)

For nursing homes and residential care centres, Regulation 28 (Fire Precautions) requires adequate arrangements to evacuate residents safely. HIQA inspects against this regulation. Staff must be trained and competent in evacuation procedures, including the use of evacuation equipment. In plain terms: HIQA inspectors can ask for evidence that staff are trained to evacuate residents.

Healthcare teams that also use ski sheets and ski pads can train on those aids through our Evacuation Equipment Training Course.

If your evacuation plan also needs review, our evacuation planning consultancy can help.

Assessment and Certification

We assess learners continuously through practical observation. Each participant must show safe, competent evacuation chair operation, including:

• Correct pre-use checks and fault identification
• Safe passenger transfer and securing
• Controlled stair descent with appropriate braking
• Proper communication and passenger care throughout

Certification

• Phoenix STS Training Certificate - issued as a PDF within 5 working days of course completion

• CPD Certificate - confirming 6 CPD hours (CPD Standards Office, Provider No. 22657)

• Certificate Validity - 2 years from date of issue

• Renewal Reminder - Phoenix STS will contact you approximately six months before expiry

Our Instructors

All Phoenix STS evacuation chair instructors are qualified People Moving and Handling Instructors and Evacuation Equipment Instructors. Each holds at least Fire Safety Technician (FST.IIESMS) recognition. Every instructor completes manufacturer-approved refresher training every three years.

Our instructors hold memberships with the following professional bodies:

• NAHFO - National Association of Healthcare Fire Officers
• IFE - Institution of Fire Engineers
• IOSH - Institution of Occupational Safety and Health
• IIESMS - Institute of Industrial Engineers and Safety Management Systems
• IIRSM - International Institute of Risk and Safety Management
• IHEEM - Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management
• L&DI - Learning and Development Institute of Ireland

Qualifications include BEng Fire Engineering, BSc Environmental Health and Safety Management, Higher Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety, and QQI Level 6 Train the Trainer. Combined instructor experience exceeds 100 years across healthcare, defence, construction, and corporate sectors.

Evacuation Chair Training Must Match the Building

Equipment is not the evacuation plan

An evacuation chair is an important tool. It only works when it suits the person, the stair, the staff available, the building layout, and the emergency plan. Training should therefore connect chair practice with local procedures, refuge arrangements, communication, staffing, and the organisation's personal emergency evacuation planning.

Safe practice matters

Practical training should never put staff or service users at unnecessary risk. Training manikins and controlled demonstrations let staff learn handling, straps, braking, communication, and chair movement without creating a hazard. The goal is confidence built on safe technique, not speed for its own sake.

Limits and follow-up

Not every person suits every evacuation chair, and not every stair route is straightforward. Employers should review chair location, maintenance, access, signage, refresher training, and who is actually on each shift. After training, record any problems with equipment, staffing, or routes, and act on them.

If the review shows you need new or additional chairs, we also supply evacuation chairs through our equipment site, safetyequipment.ie.