RESNA Standards Committee on Emergency Stair Travel Devices for Individuals with Disabilities (ESTD)
Click here for the membership form to join this committee.
Click here for information about the ED-1 Standard developed and maintained by this committee.
Click here to order standards from this committee.
Click here to access the RESNA Position Paper on the Use of Evacuation Chairs.
Click here to login to the committee workspace within RESNA Connect (ESTD COMMITTEE MEMBERS ONLY)
NEXT MEETING
ESTD Committee meeting dates are posted below. Meetings are open to anyone; voting on documents requires membership. Participants from diverse interest categories are encouraged to participate. Currently, the ESTD Committee has underrepresented interest categories; in particular, there is a lack of consumers, building owners and managers, insurance, and testing organizations and facilities. Each RESNA Standards Committee is required to maintain a balance in membership. All are welcome to join the committee. The RESNA Standards Committee on Emergency Stair Travel Devices (ESTD) has received approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to publish a new version of their standard known as ED-1: American National Standard for Evacuation Devices–Volume 1: Emergency Stair Travel Devices Used by Individuals with Disabilities. For more information about committee participation, please contact the ESTD officers or technicalstandards@resna.org.
- January 22, 2025 at 2pm ET
- February 26, 2025 at 2pm ET
- March 26, 2025 at 2pm ET
- April 23, 2025 at 2pm ET
- May 28, 2025 at 2pm ET
- June 25, 2025 at 2pm ET
- July 23, 2025 at 2pm ET
PUBLIC REVIEW ANNOUNCEMENT
RESNA ED-1 Standard for Evacuation Devices - Volume 1: Emergency Stair Travel Devices used by Individuals with Disabilities
The Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North American (RESNA) Standards Committee on Emergency Stair Travel Devices (ESTD) has released a final draft standard, RESNA ED-1 Standard for Evacuation Devices - Volume 1: Emergency Stair Travel Devices used by Individuals with Disabilities, for a period of public comment starting May 9th, 2025. This standard covers the terminology, description, performance, inspection, and maintenance of devices whose primary purpose is the travel of individuals with disabilities over stair and horizontal surfaces during building evacuations. This standard does not cover devices whose purpose is the travel of individuals with disabilities during routine travel on stairs. This standard includes requirements and test methods for determining emergency stair travel device performance. It also includes requirements for the disclosure of the test results.
We are interested in hearing from all parties who may be directly and materially interested in this standard. If you would like to review this draft standard and provide your comments, please email us at technicalstandards@resna.org.
OFFICERS
Glenn Hedman
University of Illinois Chicago - Assistive Technology Unit
ghedman@uic.edu
These standards affect individuals with mobility impairments, caregivers and organizations representing the technical needs of persons with mobility impairments, life safety operators, building owners and managers, life safety technology designators, code development and enforcement professionals, and manufacturers, researchers, designers, and test laboratories of emergency stair travel devices.
Work Program
RESNA ED-1 Evacuation Devices Volume 1: Emergency Stair Travel Devices for Individuals with Disabilities
The standard covers devices used for travel along stairs during emergency evacuations. This standard does not cover stair-climbing devices, incline platform lifts, or stairway chairlifts. It specifies vocabulary, methods of measurement, test methods and requirements for: dimensions and weight; seating and positioning; performance measures; strength and durability testing; operating limitations; disclosure requirements and inspection requirements.
The standard includes the following sections:
Section 1: Terminology, Description, and Performance
Section 2: Inspection, Installation, and Maintenance