Wheelchair fire evacuation from multiple story buildings.

How are people in wheelchairs supposed to evacuate from buildings with more than one floor if elevators are not to be used during a fire? The ADA has required strobe lights on fire alarms and for restrooms to be accessible to physically handicapped people however this issue of wheelchair users evacuating from multi story buildings during a fire hasn’t been addressed.

For some years building codes have required new construction and renovated buildings to have Areas of Refuge. These areas must be hardened against fire and smoke penetration. They must have a two way communication system to a place constantly attended. Often this is a pressurized stairwell with large landings to accommodate people to congregate there. First responders are then dispatched to assist the people to exit the building.
Link to more information.

Most of the older buildings I serviced had a list in the engineer’s office, fire control room, or security area of locations where it was known there were people needing assistance to exit in an emergency.

My high school had those but they were mainly in the stairwells and some large classrooms that were shop rooms. It was a joke one year because one of the students from my shop accidentally activated the emergency button and admitted not knowing what is was and thinking it was the light switch.