Use of Poling Tool Is Effective Way To Open Elevator Hoistway Doors
features
Poling is frequently an effective method of unlocking an elevator hoistway door.
A long, preferably flat pole is used to release the door from above, below or alongside. Depending on the position of the person using the pole, it is known as poling down, poling up or poling across. This procedure, especially poling across, is often used in high-rise buildings where two or more elevators occupy the same hoistway and keyholes for hoistway door unlocking keys are few or nonexistent.
Usually, poling is an interim measure in gaining access to a stalled elevator. However, there have been many occasions when poling was the only action necessary since the elevator car door was already open and the elevator was close to a landing or the car door had engaged the hoistway door release roller and was carried open by movement of the hoistway door.
The .Jarclose tool, designed and named after the author and Connie Dean Groseclose of the Silver Spring, Md., Fire Department, has proven to be effective in opening hoistway doors during elevator rescue incidents. The design of the pole head increases its utility through its ability to exert a force on a hoistway door release roller by either a pushing or pulling motion.
Pike pole use limited
A pike pole, or similar tool, has limited use because of its diameter and lack of flexibility. This is especially true when attempting to pole across in buildings where the clearance between the face of the elevator enclosure and hoistway wall is rather narrow. However, it has been effectively used with poling up or poling down operations. This is primarily due to the freedom of movement afforded by the open space in the hoistway. Usually, the greatest difficulty is encountered when carrying the pole to the location of use.
Although poling is an effective procedure, there are situations which preclude its use. If the distance to be spanned is beyond reach of the pole or the clearance between the car enclosure and hoistway wall is too narrow, poling cannot he accomplished. Obstructions in the hoistway, such as an electrical conduit, wire mesh, or columns and beams, also can hamper poling efforts. The location of the release roller or other elevator features can cause poling to be ineffective. Nevertheless, this procedure should be practiced with sufficient frequency to ensure competent and safe usage.
The standard equipment taken to an elevator rescue scene should include an elevator pole, hoistway door unlocking keys, car control keys, hand lights, portable radio, forcible entry tools and rope.
The initial actions should be to confirm that the elevator company responsible for service has been notified and to determine the location of the stalled elevator. Checking with bystanders, looking at the hall position indicator (located above entranceway of elevator), or opening a hoistway door by using the appropriate key and looking up and down the hoistway are ways of determining location of a stalled elevator.
Initial actions
Upon reaching the landing nearest to the stalled elevator, it is imperative that communication with the passengers be established and maintained. If poling is deemed to be the most appropriate procedure to gain access, certain safety measures must be taken prior to, during and after its use. The principal measures include the stationing of a member of the rescue crew at the entranceway of the hoistway door to be opened, shutting off the main power to the stalled elevator, properly securing the person using the pole (poler), and safely transferring passengers to the landing, and securing each hoistway door after use.
Poling across is, perhaps, the most frequently used and the safest form of poling. This procedure, as with the other two, should not be attempted without first shutting off the main power to the elevators involved. An adjacent in-service elevator is taken to the landing nearest to the stalled elevator. Alter shutting off the main power to both elevators, the poler takes a position standing in the entranceway of the in-service elevator and faces the stalled elevator. Usually a hand light is necessary to locate the hoistway door release roller of the door to be opened.
While another person holds the light, the poler positions the pole between the front of the elevator and hoistway wall and contacts the roller. Depending on the situation, a pulling or pushing motion must be applied to the roller to release the lock. As a rule of thumb, the roller nearest the direction the door opens is the one to which force must be applied. It is important to note that very little force is necessary to release the lock. It is comparable to the force exerted by a hoistway door unlocking key when opening a door.
Coordination necessary
Since the force being applied is in the same direction as movement of the door, the door probably can be fully opened with the pole. However, this movement should be executed slowly and smoothly. It must be coordinated with the person stationed at the door to ensure safety and hold the door open.
After the passengers have been removed, the hoistway door should be closed and checked, by pushing on it, to make sure it is locked. Any door that has a defective lock should be guarded and reported immediately both to management and the elevator repair service.
Before leaving the scene, power should be restored only to the in-service elevator. It is not the responsibility of rescue personnel to restore power to a stalled elevator.
Poling down
When poling down, the hoistway door above the one to be poled open must be opened to gain access to the hoistway. If a keyhole is available, a key can be used to unlock this door. Otherwise forcible entry will be required. However, this should not be used unless a real emergency exists.
After stationing a person at the door to be opened and shutting off the main power to the stalled elevator, a rope, safety belt and rope, or other suitable means should be used to safeguard the poler. After the hoistway door has been opened, the poler lies prone on the floor with his body perpendicular to the sill. Only the poler’s head and arms should be near the opened hoistway. This position provides stability for the poler. A second person must be assigned to hold open the hoistway door. However, in some situations a clothespin placed in the guide track has kept the hoistway door open.
A hand light may be required to locate the release roller of the door to be poled open. Either the poler or another person may handle the light. If another person uses the light, he should take the same safety measures as the poler. The pole is then passed to the poler, who positions the head at the roller. Since the distance from the sill to the roller below may be substantial and the pole must exert a lateral force, the only action of the pole is to unlock the door. Simultaneous with this action, the person stationed at the door below pushes on the door and moves it slowly to the open position. Communication plays an important role because of the need to coordinate both activities.
If several doors must be poled open and it is practicable to do so, the pole can be passed from floor to floor within the hoistway. Needless to say, appropriate safety measures must be taken during transfer of the pole.
Poling up
The last form of poling, poling up, is the most dangerous for the poler. It should be used only when there is a sufficient number of personnel available to ensure safety of the poler as well as protection of the hoistway opening after the door is poled open. When using this procedure, the poler does not have the security of lying on the floor or standing in the entranceway of an elevator. His stability is provided solely by the personnel assigned to that task. As with poling down, a rope, or safety belt and rope, is attached to the poler before he approaches the opened hoistway. Where practicable, the rope should be anchored or wrapped around a stationary object, such as a stairway railing or standpipe riser.
After the poler has assumed a safe and stable position at the entranceway, he looks up the hoistway to locate the release roller. A hand light may be necessary. If so, another person will have to direct it during poling. Appropriate actions must be taken to ensure this person’s safety.
The pole is passed to the poler after he has assumed a suitable stance. The pole is cautiously advanced up the hoistway to the hoistway door release roller directly above. Because the pole must be positioned above the poler and the distance to be spanned nears the limit of the reach, it may become somewhat unwieldy.
It becomes apparent, as the pole is being positioned, that its only function will be to unlock the door. The same procedure as recommended for poling down must be used to open the door once it has been unlocked.
Passing the pole
If several doors must be poled open to reach the stalled elevator, the pole can be passed inside the hoistway to the person who opens the hoistway door at the landing directly above. When this is done, the person receiving the pole should be prone on the floor as previously mentioned with poling-down operations. The person who receives the pole becomes the poler and the personnel below relocate to the next door to be opened—except those responsible for safety of the poler. This procedure is repeated until the final hoistway door has been opened.
Obviously, there is much more to freeing passengers from a stalled elevator than what was discussed here. However, poling is deserving of suitable discussion due to its frequency of use and associated hazards.
It is most important for personnel to seek bona fide instructions in how to safely and effectively use all three forms of poling. The logical source would be a local elevator service company or a member of a fire or rescue unit who is experienced in this procedure.
