Excerpts from the Daily-chronicle.com:
Developers of new multi-story buildings in Sycamore would have to design elevators to accommodate the size of ambulance cots under a proposal city officials are considering.
If the city council votes to amend city code, the elevators in any new building developed in Sycamore would have to accommodate the size of a 2-foot-by-7-foot stretcher in the horizontal, open position. Currently, only buildings with four or more stories are required to have elevators with these dimensions.
Sycamore Fire Chief Pete Polarek told city council members Monday that once the fire department becomes engaged in the building review process, developers typically have already spent money on materials for smaller elevators.
Minimum elevator size requirements that meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards will only fit stretchers in the upright, seated position. Polarek said firefighters might have to interrupt chest compressions on a patient experiencing cardiac arrest if they have to navigate them down stairs.
The city would not be asking for older buildings to be retrofitted, but the requirement would be in place for future construction.
thanks Dan
