Look Alike Warning

Beware of counterfeit, similar sounding or looking EVAC+CHAIRS® evacuation chairs. These products could be DANGEROUS, FAIL DURING NORMAL USE and cause harm when used. Please ensure you ONLY purchase genuine EVAC+CHAIR® products

We have personally imported and tested several copies. Each of them have been sub standard in both performance and strength. The ones we have seen have no ISO, BSO, or other certification standard. Some not even carrying the name of manufacturer, and have even copied Evac+Chair colours. The average person would not know the difference. One of our long standing clients purchased an evacuation chair (same as pictured below) thinking it was an Evac+Chair. We carried out a performance comparison at the time. A staff member who had been trained on the copy chair made these comments.

"This morning I caught up with .... and he has relayed that the “other” model is very inferior to our original Evac chair, that it Felt like moving a barrow of concrete was his words".

Evac+Chair International has carried out extensive strength and performance comparisons on several such chairs. We can send full strength results via email but less technically minded have included the Conclusion.

1.0      Conclusion

1.1  Based upon the results data comparing results from 3 tests across six different evacuation chairs the following conclusion and recommendations can be made:

1.2  The Evac+Chair 1-300H Evacuation chair (001) uses the hardest material of all six chairs tested, alongside Evaculife Evacuation chair (005), which although manufactured from a lesser grade material – Al 6063, maintained the same hardness result as the Evac+Chair during the Vickers test.

1.3  The material used by the Evac+Chair (001) has the highest theoretical tensile strength second lowest elastic deformation recorded during load testing, deflecting just 31.9mm when loaded with 100kg. This result only slightly less than the unknown manufacturer chair of chair 007 which deflected by 28.2mm. Evaculife’s Evacuation chair (in picture below) fell considerably behind in third place deflecting 40.2mm and the remaining chairs all deflected between 48mm for the Dragon DW-ST004 chair (003) and The Moyne Roberts Evacuation chair (004) which deflected by a considerable 60.5mm.

Accreditation: Ask if the evacuation chair is registered with the MHRA (Medical & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency)* as a Medical Device Class I. After all, this is a life safety product and someone’s life may depend on it.

We have spoken to one of NZ's leading importers of Cycles and despite stringent quality control in the country of manufacture they still budget to allow 1 in 10 to be faulty to the point of needing replacement. Confidentiality does not allow us to provide details, but we believe this margin is incorporated into many importing companies. Unacceptable, but especially so when it affects safety equipment.

Some such chairs have already been extensively sold in New  Zealand by reputable safety companies specialising in Evacuation. This could potentially discredit the good name we have built with Evac+Chair, and prove deadly in the event of a disaster.

We suggest before purchasing and evacuation chair you go to our government web page.  https://comcom.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0028/59365/Product-safety-standards-Know-your-responsibilities-as-a-trader-February-2021.pdf

One quote from this page "If a product you are selling or advertising to sell does not meet the product safety standard specified in the regulations, you are at risk of breaking the law under the Fair Trading Act. Any person that is found guilty of breaking the law under the Fair Trading Act can be fined up to $200,000. Businesses found guilty of not following the law can be fined up to $600,000."

We suggest you check with your supplier, as the lookalikes we have examined bear no such standard markings.

• The UK Regulatory Agency Recognised globally as an authority in its field, the agency plays a leading role in protecting and improving public health and supports innovation through scientific research and development.