How to Pick the Best Evacuation Chair

-By David Egen

David Egen is the founder of EVAC+CHAIR Corp. and actually invented the EVAC+CHAIR.

First, make sure it’s light, strong and simple to operate. Superfluous braking systems, overweight construction and multiple parts lists do not make an emergency tool that can be counted on. Weight and complexity are to be avoided.

Let’s face it, evacuation equipment may well need to be carried to where it’s needed most. Up a flight of stairs, down the hall to a bedroom, to an accessible fire stair…it’s difficult to position equipment precisely where it will be needed. Therefore be sure it’s light enough to be carried. Twenty pounds is doable, 50-lbs is an arm-wrenching struggle.

An added benefit here is that “light” translates into “speed” for getting it to where it’s needed. Evacuating an individual down fire stairs requires “control descent” that encourages speed to match traffic flow. “Polymatic Traction”™ is the self- regulating speed governor feature of EVAC+CHAIR that enables the operator to speed up, slow down or stop on the stairs with smooth assurance and ease. Since its introduction in 1982, EVAC+CHAIR has gone through 5 major design revisions with minimal weight increase and little added complexity for major evolutionary improvement.

For these reasons, EVAC+CHAIR has remained the standard for building evacuation of the disabled since 1982.

The Mk3 EVAC+CHAIR

The EVAC+CHAIR is the original emergency evacuation chair. There are plenty of copycat competitors, but as usual, the original is still the best. Here's why:

Our MK3 evacuation chair is simple. It works every time. It is intuitive so anyone can use it, even without training or instruction. There are no complicated add-ons to break. No gimmicky features to snag or fail. It simply works, effectively, easily, and does what it was designed to do: save lives.

Key EVAC+CHAIR features include:

Speed: You can grab the EVAC+CHAIR off the wall and have it unfolded in less than 10 seconds.
Ease of Use: It simply unsnaps from its included wall mount, and unfolds in one easy step. It's ready to go seconds later.
Simplicity: Don't let the simple, plain design fool you: this is still the best evacuation chair in the world. Its plain looks and construction are by design. The fewer parts or features, the less there is to learn or to go wrong.
Size: Our EVAC+CHAIR is the smallest of any similar products and weights in at only 19 pounds! That makes it a lot lighter (which makes it that much easier for anyone to use.) It also means that it snaps to the wall very unobtrusively so that it doesn't get in the way.
High Capacity: The EVAC+CHAIR weighs only 19-lbs but has a 330-lb capacity!
Stand Alone: It requires no attachments to stairs or side railing.
Portable: Carry it easily to any place you need.
Nothing Required. No assembly or installation is required. It comes ready-to-use out of the box (though we do include a convenient wall mount if you prefer to permanently mount it next to stairs.
Flow: The EVAC+CHAIR was specially designed to be able to keep up with the flow of foot traffic during an emergency evacuation. Using the EVAC+CHAIR won't clog your stairwell and prevent others from evacuating.
Safety: The EVAC+CHAIR utilizes an exclusive automatic braking system to prevent it from 'getting away from you.' This ensures there will never be an uncontrolled decent.

Compare EVAC+CHAIR to the rest:

Still not convinced that the EVAC+CHAIR is the best of breed product for emergency stair evacuation? Please visit our comparison page to see how it stacks up to the competition!