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health & safety<br />
26<br />
Belfast City Airport (BCA) is the second major<br />
airport in the UK to install DeafAlerter(r), the<br />
market leading radio-based fire alarm warning<br />
and messaging system for Deaf and hard of<br />
hearing passengers and staff. The aim of the<br />
introduction of Deaf Alerter is not only to<br />
improve BCA facilities in compliance with the<br />
Disability Discrimination Act (enforced<br />
October 2004) by providing equal access, but<br />
to enhance the travel experience BCA Deaf or<br />
hard of hearing passengers receive.<br />
A hearing person in the airport relies on the<br />
audible alarms for fire alarm or emergency<br />
warnings, however Deaf and hard of hearing<br />
people are excluded from these vital messages<br />
as it is a facility not accessible to them. The<br />
Deaf Alerter system overcomes this barrier by<br />
means of a small hand-held device, known as an<br />
Alerter. Passengers can borrow an Alerter free<br />
of charge from the information desk, at which<br />
point an instruction card will be provided; those<br />
passengers who own their own Alerter will need<br />
to register it with the information desk.<br />
The Deaf Alerter system comprises a VHF radio<br />
transmitter and aerial, which is permanently<br />
connected to the airport’s existing fire alarm<br />
system. This responds instantly to an alarm and<br />
each Alerter in use receives a simultaneous signal,<br />
vibrating and flashing to attract the Alerter<br />
wearer’s attention. This will continue until the<br />
Alerter user is safely out of the building.<br />
Although life safety is the key purpose and priority<br />
of Deaf Alerter it has another great unique<br />
feature called Message Manager(tm), which provides<br />
access to audible public address<br />
announcements. Deaf Alerter’s Message<br />
Manager has an automated link with the flight<br />
information system; when a<br />
message is broadcast audibly<br />
the same message is<br />
sent via the Alerter, for<br />
example ‘Go to Gate’ or<br />
‘Flight Boarding’.<br />
Belfast City<br />
Airport prepares<br />
for DDA takeoff<br />
with Deaf Alerter<br />
Traditionally for most Deaf and hard of hearing<br />
people the departure lounge experience is not<br />
particularly pleasurable. It’s extremely difficult<br />
to hear announcements even when you have full<br />
hearing. With 15% of the UK population experiencing<br />
some form of hearing loss, ranging form<br />
mild hearing loss to profoundly deaf (9 million<br />
people) there is a huge number of potential passengers<br />
who will struggle to hear the messages,<br />
if at all. So the wait in the departure lounge for<br />
Deaf passengers is usually spent sitting next to<br />
an information screen, being too worried to<br />
move in case they miss their flight.<br />
This need not be the case. Deaf Alerter’s<br />
Managing Director Steve Haseldine explains:<br />
“Deaf Alerter makes for an altogether more<br />
pleasurable travelling experience, knowing a<br />
safety provision has been made if a fire was to<br />
occur and that it is virtually impossible to miss<br />
your flight as the Alerter will inform you on its<br />
screen. One of the main things people look forward<br />
to when flying is shopping in duty free;<br />
rest assured, Deaf Alerter will help you get<br />
around the duty free, something we should all<br />
be able to do without worrying. Many organi-<br />
sations are unaware of their obligation to provide<br />
fire safety to all people, which includes<br />
people with disabilities, BCA commitment to<br />
their passengers’ needs has been inspirational,<br />
I’m sure it won’t go unnoticed by the Deaf<br />
community and may even help attract more passengers<br />
as an installation of Deaf Alerter often<br />
does.”<br />
“Whilst assisting a Deaf passenger the other day,<br />
I experienced the barriers Deaf people face and<br />
just how confusing it can be,” said Liz Donnan,<br />
Customer Services Duty Manager at BCA.<br />
“Message Manager will be fantastic for our passengers.<br />
We are in the process of implanting it<br />
so it should be available very soon. We hope it<br />
will enable our Deaf and hard of hearing passengers<br />
to have freedom and independence<br />
throughout the terminal buildings as it has done<br />
at Birmingham International Airport, who<br />
installed the system last year.”<br />
Liz continued, “Deaf Alerter is just one of the<br />
many initiatives BCA has implemented but we<br />
are constantly reviewing ways in which to<br />
improve our facilities for all disabled people.”<br />
Reader Reply No.: 85027<br />
www.practicalfm.co.uk