1: BREATHE
If you’re ever in the situation when you’re stuck in an elevator, it is natural for you to feel scared. But for your own safety, you should try your best to stay calm. Take 3, deep breaths in and out to calm yourself. This will allow you to get help as quickly as possible. In general, lift emergency services are extremely fast to arrive and assist victims in getting out of their situation, meaning you’ll be out of your situation in no time. More importantly, you need to be able to speak clearly into the microphone when speaking to the emergency elevator technician and be able to listen to any instructions they tell you.
If you’re ever in the situation when you’re stuck in an elevator, it is natural for you to feel scared. But for your own safety, you should try your best to stay calm.
2: RAISE THE ALARM
If you’re stuck in a lift, there will be a red button that will be illuminated. Emergency lights will also likely activate around you and make it easier for you to see your environment. This leads us onto the next step of what to do when stuck in an elevator. Press the red ‘emergency’ button. This can be called ‘Emergency’, ‘Press for 24/7 service’ or ‘Assistance’. Alternatively this button may have an icon of a phone or a ringing bell. Press this button now. Once you press the button, you will be automatically connected with a technician. This technician will be on their way to assist you from the moment you press the button. Additionally, any members of staff in the same building you are stuck in will be automatically alerted that there is someone stuck in the elevator, and will immediately be on their way to assist you in any way possible. You can now relax knowing that help is on its way to you. There’s no need for you to panic now - you’ve done 100% of what’s needed to free yourself from your situation.
3: SHOUT FOR HELP
In very rare situations, If after a few minutes you are still waiting for assistance, start to call for help. Alternatively you can hit the elevator door with your fist or an object to attract as much attention as possible. Once again be careful not to panic while doing these actions. Also be careful not to wear your voice out early by shouting too loud. In 99.9% of circumstances, an elevator technician will already be on their way. However if you find yourself not hearing from anyone after a few minutes, then you can make as much noise as possible to attract maximum attention, in order to get someone to see your need for assistance, who can then get further help if needed. People nearby can also comfort you if you are particularly distressed during a situation like when you are stuck in an elevator.
4: RELAX AND WAIT
Once you press the emergency button in the lift it can take some time for help to arrive. Even if you are waiting for over an hour - do not give up hope! More often than not, someone will notice that the elevator in the building has stopped working. Elevator technicians are very fast to respond to emergency call outs whenever someone is in the unfortunate situation of being stuck inside an elevator. In the vast majority of cases, you will be freed within 30 minutes.
5: STEP BACK
When help arrives, it is very important that you listen carefully to their instructions. All instructions are made in the name of your own personal safety, hence why you must listen and follow all guidance from the elevator technician. If the elevator is stuck in position near a floor, the lift technician will likely use tools to prise open the elevator doors. Because of this, you should stand as far back as possible from the elevator doors to avoid any unnecessary injuries that could have been avoided. The doors won’t take long to open, so as soon as help arrives just know that you will be out of your situation very soon. Remember - it all starts with pressing the emergency button.
3 THINGS NOT TO DO WHEN STUCK IN AN ELEVATOR
1: Attempt to open the door
Attempting to pry open the lift doors by force can be an extremely dangerous thing to do. This is because if the elevator begins to move again for any reason, and the lift doors are even slightly open, this can pose a serious risk to your own safety, especially if your hands or fingers are exposed while trying to open the elevator doors. Remember - the best thing you can do is to press the emergency button and wait for help to arrive. An elevator technician with years of experience will soon arrive.
2: Jump to try to get the elevator to move
This is a very common misconception. If you’re in a lift and it stops moving, it is extremely important that you stand still. In the worst case scenario, jumping up and down in the elevator could cause a catastrophic failure and cause the elevator to suddenly fall. If there is one thing you remember from reading this guide, it is to press the emergency service button in the elevator and then wait for help to arrive.
3: Panic
Although this might seem like common sense, it is very important to remember. While it is easy to say that you would not panic if you are stuck in a lift, the reality can be very intimidating. If you’re ever in the unfortunate situation of being stuck in an elevator, before you do anything else, take three deep breaths in and out, and think rationally, and not with your emotions.
Stuck in an elevator? Count yourself lucky you still have a phone signal. For emergency service or maintenance services to reduce the risk of people ending up in the unfortunate situation of being stuck in an elevator, contact Level Elevators via phone or email today. We’ll respond to all queries within 24 hours. If you are in need of emergency assistance, speak to a lift technician with years of experience at 07966 484 085 immediately.
WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF AN ELEVATOR BREAKING DOWN?
Elevators are remarkably safe.
An elevator inside the average office building makes almost half a million trips per year. This is because elevators are operational during all working hours, 5 days a week, every working day of the year.
Elevators have extremely safe operating systems. These safety systems can be categorised into two separate parts: electrical safety systems and mechanical safety systems.
The mechanical systems involve:
- The lift carriage and machine
- Machine brake
- Safety brakes
- Overspeed governor
- Buffers
- Elevator controller
- Built-in software
- Sensors
A good way to explain how these safety systems work in modern elevators systems is to imagine them activating during a pretend scenario.
Let’s say a lift starts travelling too fast. The sensors detect this, relay the information to the controller, where the controller then orders the control system to safely bring the lift to a stop.
In this situation, the control system orders the elevator to come to a stop, but while the control system is gradually slowing down the lift, but it does not slow it down enough.
The control system recognises this, and then automatically cuts all power from the elevator machine, while applying the machine brake. This causes the elevator to slow down even further.
In this scenario the lift still accelerates. In this case, the governor activates.
This is a component that is integrated into the machine room. With its own pulley, this device senses that the speed of the lift is moving too fast. Flyweights are then sprung outward, which trips a device that then grabs the rope attached to the governor.
With the rope attached to the governor now being stopped, emergency brakes are deployed on the lift carriage itself. These emergency brakes lock onto the rails which brings the lift to a safe stop.
As a worst case scenario, buffers act as a further braking component. These slow down the elevator carriage by themselves, and are essentially giant shock absorbers.
As you can see, there are multiple layers of safety equipment on every elevator machine system. These multiple fail-safes help to prevent any personal injury, and are extremely reliable. These safety systems are also improved every single year with new industry advancements in both mechanical and electrical components.
Multiple safety systems - both electrical and mechanical - allow an elevator to be safe at all times during operation. Even in the case of a power cut, the lift carriage is still able to come to a complete stop, ensuring the safety of all individuals inside.
HOW DO I PREVENT MY ELEVATOR FROM BREAKING DOWN?
Elevator breakdowns can happen for many reasons.
A very common reason for a lift breaking down during operational hours is due to poor lift maintenance.
This can be a result of improper maintenance of the elevator’s mechanism, failure to regularly clean the elevator’s filter system, or simply due to the lift itself and its lifting mechanism being outdated and old.
If the latter is true, then a complete elevator re-installation with an updated model is the recommended solution.
Other breakdowns can occur due to electrical problems within the residential or commercial building itself, usually manifesting itself in the form of power failures and power cuts.
When these occur, the elevator can often completely shut down, making anyone caught in transit being stuck until a lift engineer can come to assist them.
The best solution to this problem is hiring a lift maintenance engineer to conduct regular lift inspection and maintenance.
The lift engineer will be able to efficiently check the entire functionality of the lift and ensure it is performing at the highest standards of safety.
A maintenance contract is often more cost-effective than not having one.
Now, choosing between the wide range of elevator service companies out there can be a challenging and demanding task.
Here are a few key pointers to look out for when choosing a lift servicing company:
TRUST
If you have installed a new elevator carriage and mechanism lately, or have had one replaced, then the company that installed your lift can be a great choice.
This is because you already know them, and have built rapport through their previous service during the process of their recent life installation or replacement service.
EXPERIENCE
Taking a look at a company and their accreditations is a great way to check if you can trust them enough to invest in their services.
For example, here at Level Elevators we have many years of experience, as well as several safety qualifications and accreditations that show clients that we know exactly what we are doing at all stages of lift maintenance.
Struggling to find out about a company’s previous experience or qualifications? Give them a quick ring or send over a quick email to find out in the fastest way possible.
Elevator servicing companies in your local area
There is likely to be many lift servicing companies nearby where you are located.
This is great for building trust fast, as it means that other companies have also worked with them.
This helps you to get second hand information about multiple potential companies, and enables you to make a more informed decision based on your personal needs.
REVIEWS & SOCIAL MEDIA
Taking a quick look at a businesses reviews online or social media presence are efficient methods to take to quickly choose a company that you want to invest in.
Still unsure? We fit all of the above criteria, as well as offering a free quotation as part of all of our services. All you need to do is contact us via phone or email using the buttons below, and we’ll get in touch with you within a few hours.
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