Designated Waiting Areas, or DWAs, are areas intended for people with disabilities to wait for assistance for evacuation during an emergency. They are often located near emergency exits or evacuation stairs. Each DWA will feature a prominent sign posted to signify their assigned location.
Here’s an example of a sign indicating that a location acts as a designated waiting area:
If you need assistance locating the DWAs for the buildings you visit, each building’s directory includes their locations. Directories can be found at various places in every campus building and on that building’s page.
In the event of an emergency, each DWA sign features contact information for building coordinators, who manage evacuation plans for people with disabilities, and for the UC Police Department emergency dispatch line. Those signs also include the exact location of the DWA inside the building to help people with disabilities relay their current location to emergency responders.