University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: October 16, 2003

By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor

The Department of Geology is seeking the assistance of the campus community in locating a safety evacuation chair—a device that assists persons with disabilities in descending stairs in the event of a fire—that was stolen from the Natural Sciences Complex over the weekend.

A safety evacuation chair similar to this one was stolen over the weekend from the Natural Sciences Building.

The chair, which was purchased about six weeks ago by the department for use by one of its students who is wheelchair-bound, was stolen sometime between Friday morning and Sunday morning, said Alison Lagowski, assistant to the chair in the geology department. Lagowski said the chair, which was being kept in a storage case in the seventh-floor stairwell on the southeastern side of the building, was not locked up because "that would have rendered it useless," noting the department does not lock up fire extinguishers, hoses or other safety equipment.

She said the need for the safety evacuation chair became apparent one day during the summer when the student had to use the elevator to leave the building during a fire drill—something fire officials advise against because buildings often lose the electricity needed to power the elevators during a fire.

At that time, the department decided to spend $2,600 to purchase a safety evacuation chair "so that our student would have a safe route out of the building in case of a real emergency," she said.

The chair features tracks on the bottom similar to a bulldozer and wheels in the center that can lock into place, as well as a brake on the handle similar to that on a push power mower, noted Travis Nelson, support technician for the Department of Geology. When in the recessed position, the chair lies flat and is thin and relatively short-only about 3 inches tall by 3 feet wide, he said.

"It's quite a piece of equipment; it works well," he added.

Charles E. Mitchell, professor and chair of the Department of Geology, said he was "saddened and amazed by this thoughtless theft."

"We have made a concerted effort to facilitate the safe participation of students with physical limitations in the professional and intellectual life of the geology department," he said. "Why the person who took our evacuation chair would be so blinded to the potential effects of their actions by their own pleasure or self indulgence is to me confusing and disheartening."

Mitchell said the department would find a way to replace the chair if need be—most likely by taking funds from its operating budget, "which of course will limit the things we might otherwise be able to do to promote learning and participation by geology students."

"But we still hope that a sense of what this theft represents will lead the person who took the chair to return it," he said. "If it reappears undamaged, we will not ask any questions about where it's been."

Anyone with any information that could lead to the return of the chair or the arrest of the person or persons who took it is asked to call University Police at 645-2222.