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Keeping Evacuation Chairs Safe, Compliant & Ready to Use Every Time

The Evacuation Chair servicing team you can always rely on

Evacuation Chairs are vital for ensuring safe evacuation during an emergency, but only when they are properly maintained. A chair may appear functional for several years without use, yet could fail at the very moment it is needed most. In an emergency, equipment failure puts lives at risk and leaves employers open to serious legal consequences.

Regular servicing is therefore not a choice; it is a core requirement of responsible fire safety management.

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Under PUWER regulations (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations), Evacuation Chairs are classed as Class 1 Medical Devices and must be inspected at least once every 12 months by a competent professional. Without annual servicing, evacuation plans will remain incomplete and emergency readiness cannot be assured.

Why Evacuation Chair servicing matters

An Evacuation Chair might only be used once in its lifetime, but that one moment must work flawlessly. Annual servicing ensures the chair deploys smoothly, structural integrity remains sound, and all restraints, wheels and chair mechanisms operate safely under passenger load. Wear, track fatigue and unnoticed impact damage can accumulate quietly over time, making a visual check alone insufficient.

Servicing provides confidence, confirming that when an emergency alarm sounds, the chair will operate as expected, without hesitation or mechanical failure.

The consequences of neglected servicing

Evacuation Chairs that are not professionally inspected can risk:

● Stiff or seized tracks

● Worn straps or weakened buckles

● Frame instability under weight

● Slow or difficult deployment

● Unpredictable handling

In a real evacuation, these issues could cause injury, delay escape routes or create panic on the stairs. Beyond the evacuation risk, organisations and management teams could face potential enforcement action, legal and financial complications if chairs are poorly maintained and failed equipment contributes to any harm.

A documented service history will help demonstrate compliance and emergency preparedness. It shows that the organisation took proactive steps to ensure evacuation equipment remained safe and operational.

The EverSafe servicing approach

– Reliable. Compliant. Thorough

EverSafe provides PUWER compliant servicing designed to maintain performance, prevent failure and support legal obligations. Our engineers assess structural integrity, tracking, mechanical components, restraints, moving parts and overall operational readiness, confirming that each chair is safe for use in an emergency.

After every inspection, organisations receive a written compliance report for audit and safety records. This documentation demonstrates due diligence and supports fire risk assessments, insurance reviews and building management processes.

For those sites managing multiple chairs or large estates, EverSafe also provides planned servicing schedules and ongoing maintenance support. Whether you have one chair or several, we will help ensure every device is ready to perform, when it matters the most.

– Serviced, safe & always ready

An Evacuation Chair is a life-saving device. It should be maintained with the same inspection standards as Fire Alarms, Emergency Lighting and Fire Extinguishers. Annual servicing keeps equipment reliable, compliant and ready for emergency use.

With EverSafe, your Evacuation Chairs remain fully operational, professionally tested and inspected, giving you confidence that no one will be put at risk through equipment failure.

Stay compliant. Stay prepared.

EverSafe – keeping your Evacuation Chairs ready, when they’re needed most.

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More Education & Resources

EverSafe has developed a comprehensive library of useful information from answering key questions surrounding the use and maintenance of evacuation chairs to outlining which regulations are important to help you meet necessary compliance and legislation requirements.

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