The search for an accessible fire alarm

Have you ever seen a visual fire alarm? When photographer Wilke Geurds and I set out to take photos, we really had to search for this type of alarm. The standard type of alarms were easy to find: they are everywhere in the Humanities buildings. We understood that there now are a small number of visual fire alarms at the university. Wilke and I could only find them at the Vrieshof and we immediately found a problem: the visual fire alarms have been placed outside. These are little use to a deaf person working inside. Additionally, a fire alarm that uses light flashes is less useful when it is hanging outside in the sunlight.

A man approached us during our search. He works in one of the Vrieshof buildings and wondered what we were doing. I explained that we were looking for visual fire alarms and he wanted to hear the story behind this. I explained that some people are unable to hear fire alarms. That the inside of these buildings do not have accessible fire alarms for deaf and hard of hearing people. That it has happened that people were left behind during a fire drill. He was shocked. His reaction matches other people’s reactions when I told them about this problem. They wonder whether the buildings they work in or frequently visit have alarm systems for deaf people. This reminds me of myself. I am hard of hearing, and my type of hearing loss comes with a big chance of me becoming deaf. Until this year I had never considered the possibility of me not being able to hear a fire alarm.

That same man approached us again when we were almost finished taking photos. “So, there’s really no fire alarm for deaf people here?”, he asks. I answer him and he walks away shaking his head. I understand, it is a painful situation.