Disability inclusion and emergency-preparedness policy post-9/11
9/11 shifted disability emergency planning to a civil rights and public safety issue
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I’m writing these words as we pass the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Those of us old enough to clearly remember that day, and the days that followed, remember a nation and a world that was profoundly changed. Volumes have been written, studied, and analyzed in the quarter century since that terrible time. Lesser known is what came after regarding the disabled population.
If you are a regular reader of my column, you know that I live with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. In 2001, I was still walking, but I also used a manual wheelchair more often to conserve energy and maintain balance. I was in New Hampshire teaching middle school music on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when I heard the news about New York City and the World Trade Center buildings.
My thoughts turned to wheelchair users both in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. My school had two floors and one elevator. If I was upstairs during a fire drill, I was to stay in my manual wheelchair at a designated location and wait for the fire department to come and carry me down a flight of stairs.
It occurred to me that any wheelchair users inside the World Trade Center that morning were likely waiting on high floors to get help.
Later that morning, both towers in lower Manhattan fell. I thought again of the disabled and skyscrapers in general: What kind of plans were in place in tall buildings?
Disabled people face increased barriers during evacuation and rescue. The towers’ evacuation plans often relied on stairs, because elevators were unavailable or unsafe during the emergency. For wheelchair users and others unable to descend many flights independently, survival depended on co-workers, strangers, or first responders carrying them down.
Disability advocates wrote about the deaths of wheelchair users and pushed for better evacuation equipment, trained assistance teams, and improved planning just a few months after the towers fell. This helped make disability inclusion a more visible part of emergency-preparedness policy.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now emphasizes that disabled people may encounter disproportionate barriers in emergencies and retain rights to accessible services, physical access, and equally effective communication under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
9/11 shifted disability emergency planning from an afterthought toward an issue of civil rights and public safety. My school, like the majority of public buildings, had a “wait in place” policy for disabled people. Tragically, this is how many wheelchair users lost their lives that day. History has taught us that it sometimes takes a tragedy to enact change.
Disabled survivors, advocates, co-workers, family members, and first responders shaped the changes that followed by successfully arguing that emergency planning must preserve autonomy, provide real access, and avoid leaving anyone behind.
Some positive changes
That awful day changed the world. The days that followed saw people coming together. Change came slowly, over months and years, to improve safety and preserve life for wheelchair users in public spaces with multiple floors.
Following are some positive changes built upon those who were part of Sept. 11, 2001:
Policy integration: Post-9/11 building code revisions in New York City and national standards increasingly mandated or strongly recommended installation of emergency evacuation chairs in high-rise commercial buildings, coupled with assigned buddy systems.
New regulations: Post-attack policy discussions forced municipal code makers to overhaul high-rise safety regulations. Modern emergency planning guidelines now require clearer paths of travel, mandatory employee training on mobility-assistance devices, and personal emergency evacuation plans for disabled employees in major commercial skyscrapers.
National Construction Safety Team: This was created one year after the attacks to focus on building failures and how to improve and strengthen designs moving forward. You can take a closer look at how this team of people continues to make positive changes today.
Finally, I have noticed an increase in evacuation chairs located near elevators and stairways in medical buildings, commercial office buildings, and skyscrapers. This is another example of a positive change in how we think and care about one another — not just in times of disaster, but at all times.
Never forget.
Note: Muscular Dystrophy News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Muscular Dystrophy News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to muscular dystrophy.
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