Imagine this scenario for a moment. You are in your hotel room in stunning Sydney, Australia and your room happens to have an incredible view because it’s on one of the upper floors. You peacefully go to bed after a long day of exploring the city, but at 2:30 AM you are awoken by a fire alarm. You quickly transfer from the bed to your powered wheelchair to escape the building, but the elevator is out of service due to the alarm. What now??
If this story seems a bit unrealistic, I can promise you that it is not. This scenario actually happened to me a couple years ago in Sydney. In a panic, as soon as I was about to be carried/thrown down six flights of stairs, we luckily found out that it was a false alarm. But what if it wouldn’t have been false? What would I have done and how would I have safely gotten out? This is something that I’ve thought of ever since that night and since it is not always possible to get a room on the bottom floor, there needs to be a solution. Well, I’m happy to say that now there is a safe solution – the Freedom Chair!
The Freedom Chair has several purposes and can be used by people for a wide variety of experiences (we’ll get to more in a bit), but having evacuation chairs in buildings greatly reduces liability exposure by providing quick and easy means of evacuation for people with special needs. The chair comes with front, back, and side handles so that up to six people can carry it, but it could easily be done with less people. To make it an even easier process, the chair is lightweight at just 23 pounds and folds flat for easy storage and transportation. This is a device that every hotel and business needs in case of an emergency. Check out this video to see the Freedom Chair going up and down steps –
Now that you have seen that the Freedom Chair would come in handy during emergencies, let’s talk about some of the more fun and enjoyable ways that the chair can benefit you.
Are you planning on going to the beach this summer? As a wheelchair user, I know how difficult it can be to find a beach wheelchair and how expensive it can be to rent one. For less than the price of renting a beach wheelchair for your two week vacation, you can buy the Freedom Chair. With the special beach tires, you can roll in the sand and enjoy the sound of the waves up close. What makes the Freedom Chair especially great is that it can fold up into the back of your car, unlike all of those big and bulky chairs that we so often see. Check out this video to see the chair in action on the beach –
The Freedom Chair can also be used on hiking trips or in any outdoor environment that might be tricky for your regular wheelchair. It is a wonderful investment whether you are keen to explore the outdoors, feel the sand between your toes, or make your business a little safer with an evacuation chair.
To learn more about the Freedom Chair, check out this website or call 707-523-7535.
*I was compensated for this post, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Related Posts
5 of the Best Wheelchair Accessible Hotels in Las Vegas
Best Accessible Attractions in Sydney, Australia
Qualities You Need to Look For When Buying a Wheelchair
Simple Tips for Booking an Accessible Hotel
Hit the Road With These Wheelchair Accessible Rental Vehicle Tips
5 of the Best Wheelchair Accessible Hotels in New York City
Love hearing about this light weight and versatile chair. Glad you only had a false alarm, Cory.
The freedom chair sounds like it comes in handy in many situations. I like how it can be used on sandy surfaces. Besides being able to go to the beach, this may mean some desert exploration for those that may have been unable to before.
Christina recently posted…Discovering Paradise in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula
It does look like a good option for evacuation but I’m sad to hear you had such a scary experience in Australia. Workplaces here are required to have individual personal emergency evacuation plans for anyone in a wheelchair or with limited mobility and my understanding is the buildings dealing with the public such as a hotel would require a detailed plan.
Toni | 2 Aussie Travellers recently posted…Kaffir Lime and Vanilla Ice Cream
I feel so ignorant for never having thought about this problem but I can imagine you must have been very scared when that alarm went off… Good to know tools like this chair exist.
Lotte recently posted…Tried And Tested: The Lowa Lady Light GTX
It is an issue in a lot of the world. The chair should like an great investment for travellers. In the USA, at lot of commercial building have these or the stairwell is fire rated to allow the handicap person to take shelter until fireman can rescue them.
Jennifer recently posted…Getting stuck exploring Los Angeles’s La Brea Tar Pits
Glad to know the fire alarm was false.. but it must have been terrifying – and great that there is a versatile chair that can be used not only for emergency situations but getting on the beach too. Wheels and sand usually don’t mix!
That’s amazing how versatile this wheelchair is, especially on the sand, making it easier for travel to be possible for anyone. It’s great that technology today comes up with tools like this!
That must have been terrifying to hear the alarm and see the stairs and then have no way of getting down and out of the building!
It’s not the same but when I was in primary school, we had a fire alarm incident as well and someone pushed me so that I fell down the stairs and couldn’t move for a minute or so and people just rushed by. That was terrifying, so I can relate somewhat.
I am really glad that they invited something like the freedom chair. Have you used it yourself yet?
Annemarie recently posted…Review: SACO Apartment in London, Canary Wharf
Quite the scary experience! Glad that is was a false alarm though. The chair looks like a great idea.
Looks like a great opportunity for travelers to have more friend about where they go. Thanks for sharing!
Sorry to hear about your experience in Sydney, that must have been quite terrifying at the time. This is a wonderful invention and I also love that it can be taken on the beach!
I am going to share this in another group!
What an awesome idea – every hotel should get one! And it’s great that you can use it on the beach!
This is fantastic. I’m sure so many people would benefit from this chair. If I’m honest, I thought hotels and any commercial buildings would already have this kind of thing in place! Its crazy to expect everyone to be able to get down stairs in an emergency. I’m so glad you have promoted it and hopefully it becomes widely used
Kate recently posted…#Unrooming for Hotels.com – Great Northern Hotel, London
Thank God it was a false alarm.
Just as its name, the freedom chair definitely gives lot of freedom. Great features!
Thats a great idea… i feel even in old age i can travel with the help of this versatile chair. Thanks.
Himanshu recently posted…Delhi Diary: A walk through Mehrauli Archeological Park, The first city of Delhi
This looks awesome! The beach is a beautiful place that everyone should have access to, regardless of whether or not they’re handicap. Very cool idea!
This is a very innovative concept that more people should know about. The improvement in safety and emergency issues with this wheelchair concept at people’s disposal could be large.