With approximately 600,000 elevators in the United States and 120 billion rides on elevators and escalators each year, a large number of fire and rescue personnel respond to emergencies on these devices. The subject needs to be addressed throughout the fire service to better prepare those who are called to rescue someone out of an elevator during an emergency or disaster.

What happens when the elevators become disabled due to a fire, catastrophe or equipment malfunction? In most cases they must be restarted or fire and rescue personnel must take quick steps to safely remove passengers. Time is of the essence when removing trapped passengers, because many people have panic attacks and go into shock when confined in a stalled elevator.

Proper safety also is required to prevent injury to fire inspectors when they come into contact with elevator equipment during inspections. It's time to take stock: Do you have a basic knowledge of elevators? How much do you actually know about the safety features and dangers of elevators? Do you provide that elevator safety training to your fire inspectors, firefighters and rescue workers?

Elevator accidents

Each year nearly 10,000 people end up in emergency rooms due to elevator- or escalator-related accidents such as tripping, caught clothing, being hit by closing elevator doors or by falling down an elevator shaft when trying to exit a stalled elevator car. It's not just the general public being hurt; many times it's elevator installers, servicepeople, and fire and rescue personnel called to extricate someone from a stalled elevator. Even fire inspectors can be injured when coming into contact with moving elevator equipment during the course of an inspection. The odds of someone in the general public getting stuck in a stalled elevator are about once in a lifetime. The odds of an elevator serviceperson, maintenance person or firefighter getting injured on an elevator also are once in a lifetime. Of course, getting injured even once is too much.

According to the ASME A17.1, Elevator Safety Code, the definition of an elevator is “a hoisting and lowering mechanism equipped with a car or platform which moves in guide rails and serves two or more landings.” There are two types of elevators: passenger elevators, which carry people, and freight elevators, which carry freight or materials and the person necessary to operate the elevator.

Another type of elevating device is an escalator, which is a power-driven, inclined continuous stairway used for raising and lowering passengers. People are injured on escalators by falling or being dragged when loose clothing is caught. Occasionally the roller axles that hold the escalator stairs or steps in place may break and someone may fall partially into a moving escalator, which is particularly dangerous.

When attempting to rescue someone who's being injured by a moving escalator, always push the red stop button at the top or bottom of the escalator to shut it down. In entrapment cases, try not to turn an escalator back on without the escalator serviceperson there. He or she is the expert and can help prevent further injury.

Mechanics of the elevator

Elevators are composed of several mechanical components. In the machine room of a hydraulic elevator you will find a controller and a tank full of hydraulic fluid, along with a pump and a line that pumps fluid underneath the elevator into a cylinder. The fluid pushes a jack up out of the cylinder and lifts the elevator. When someone pushes a button to go down, the valve in the pump allows the fluid to flow back into the tank, thereby lowering the elevator back down.

Traction elevators are driven by an electric motor located in the building's penthouse. The motor has a pulley or drive sheave attached and there are usually three or more cables on it that are fastened to the elevator. In some older elevators there may be only one cable. When you see an elevator falling out of control on TV, you always see a traction (cabled) elevator. However, in reality the traction elevators have safeties or emergency brakes on them that are supposed to bring the elevator to a stop in case of a free fall. There is a governor that activates the safeties if the elevator goes too fast, meaning it has reached 125% of its normal speed.

If the elevator is supposed to travel at 100 feet per minute and it gets up to 125 feet per minute, the safeties should activate and stop the elevator within a certain distance. Hydraulic elevators don't have these safeties on them so they can and do fall sometimes, possibly due to a sudden catastrophic loss of pressure in the hydraulic fluid line or cylinder. This can happen in older elevators due to electrolysis or corrosion. Newer hydraulic elevators feature underground hydraulic cylinders covered with PVC and insulation to keep moisture away.

Elevators have two sets of doors: those which move up and down with the elevator and keep passengers from falling out, and the stationary hoist-way doors at each landing that are opened by a device on the elevator once it has reached the floor. When attempting to rescue someone out of an elevator, always try to use the proper elevator hoist-way door key. Many times fire-service personnel just pry it open or cut it with a saw. This is improper and dangerous because it can break and disable the hoist-way door interlock system. The interlock is an electrical/mechanical device that keeps the hoist-way doors latched when the elevator isn't there. It also turns off the elevator when triggered by a hoist-way door key that has been inserted and turned to open the hoist-way door. You wouldn't want the elevator to start moving when you have the hoist-way door open and are trying to get someone out, which is why you don't want to disable the interlock.

Elevator pits

Remember, never open an elevator shaft door and jump down into the pit because it may be very deep even at the bottom floor. Check the depth first and then use the proper ladder, which may be attached to the wall inside the elevator shaft. Elevator pits are confined spaces, so always use confined-space entry procedures, especially when entering a sewer-lift station elevator or man-lifts because methane and other poisonous gases may be present.

When performing pre-fire inspections, be sure that access to the elevator machine rooms is clear and nothing un-related to the elevator is stored there. Also, find out where the property manager keeps the fire-service system keys as well as the key to the elevator machine room. Note the locations in your pre-fire plan for each building, as it will be important information during an emergency. If you're going to use the elevator to help fight a fire, you will need the fire service system keys. If someone is trapped in a stalled elevator, the very first thing you will need to do after paging the elevator serviceperson is go to the elevator machine room and shut off the elevator main disconnect switch before attempting a rescue.

Be careful when entering an elevator machine room, especially during a fire. There are moving parts such as cables and drive sheaves that can injure or kill you. Also, elevators operate under high voltage. If the elevator machine room is sprinkled there may be water falling from the sprinkler head or standing on the floor. Be aware of this and use caution if you are going to attempt to shut off power to the elevator. You don't want to be standing in water and grab the main disconnect switch with your unprotected hand. Some elevators have electrical shunt trips that automatically shut off the power just prior to the application of the water from the sprinklers.

Always follow the procedures outlined in the ASME A17.4, Guide for Emergency Personnel, when performing elevator rescues or operating elevators during fires. The guide contains exact procedures for safely rescuing persons trapped in a stalled elevator and contains instructions for use of elevator fire service systems during fires. Not following these procedures could be fatal to you or the people you're trying to rescue.

Your inspectors and fire and rescue personnel need to be thoroughly familiar with elevators and escalators, the equipment, the dangers and the safety devices that could possibly save their lives. To obtain a CD-ROM elevator familiarization course, contact brettkilgore@earthlink.net. Remember, safety is priority number one.

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Brett Kilgore of Knoxville, Tenn., is a public safety professional with two decades of experience in law enforcement, the fire service and codes enforcement. He holds an international elevator safety inspector certification along with state fire service and law enforcement certifications. Kilgore develops and teaches public safety courses in several states.