What’s an Area of Refuge?
An area of refuge is a designated location within a building specially designed to hold people safely during an emergency. In other words, an area of refuge is set aside for situations when evacuation may not be possible or is otherwise unsafe. For example, patients in a hospital may not be able to use a stairwell to exit the building because there is a fire. People can wait in the area of refuge safely until rescued by firefighters or emergency rescue teams. This area may also have the name “area of rescue assistance.”
Who utilizes these spaces?
- Elderly people
- People with disabilities
- Hospital patients
- Sick people
- Very young children or infants
- Operators in a critical facility who cannot leave their station (military base, power station, prison)
- Any person who cannot access an escape route
- Any person assisting another person who is unable to escape
- People on the upper floors of a building who cannot safely take stairs through lower levels where a fire is present
Requirements for An Area of Refuge
- Location adjacent to an emergency exit path
- Signs designating where to go for shelter
- A fire barrier for protection
- Fresh air intake
- Emergency lighting for power outages
- A two-way voice communication system
- Large enough for wheelchair accessibility
- Located where it doesn’t block others trying to escape
- In public buildings, it must exist on every floor above ground level