BY GARY SIEGEL
Many fire departments respond to some type of elevator rescue regularly. Generally speaking, the firefighter`s function at elevator calls should be limited to safely removing occupants. The repair and reactivation of elevators should be left to the elevator mechanic or maintenance company.
Almost 90 percent of elevator calls are classified as incidents; they usually involve some type of disabled elevator. The other 10 percent are classified as emergency calls. However, conditions must be constantly monitored in incidents involving elevators to determine if an incident may have to be upgraded to an emergency.
An emergency call is one that involves one or more of the following:
fire is endangering person(s) in an elevator,
a person(s) is injured, or
a person(s) is in panic.
A true emergency may be designated “FIP” ( fire, injury, panic).
The third factor is subjective. You can sometimes calm an individual in panic simply by talking to him and explaining the procedures underway to get him out of the disabled elevator.
In large metropolitan areas, an elevator mechanic usually is on call to respond within one or two hours. When an incident occurs, it sometimes may be advisable to obtain an estimated time of arrival from the elevator maintenance company and, if appropriate, to wait for the mechanic. The mechanics are usually the experts in this field.
TYPES OF ELEVATORS
Two types of elevators are constructed today. The electric traction type has several cables and counterweights that move up and down with the elevator car. The counterweights weigh as much as an empty car plus one-half of its live load. This type of elevator can be used in any application, ranging from low-rise to high-rise buildings.
In the second type of elevator, hydraulic or piston, a hydraulic piston is attached to the bottom of the car and travels up and down with the car under hydraulic pressure. Since the piston travels into the ground as the car descends, this type of elevator generally is found in short spans of four stories or fewer. But now a new type of telescopic piston is available. Its sections of graduated widths slip into each other, making it possible to use this type of elevator in buildings as high as eight stories. Determining which type of elevator you are dealing with is an important aspect of your initial size-up–i.e., the type of elevator determines the location of the machinery room (see “Secondary Removal Procedures” on page 20). You will need to find this machinery room to turn off the power to the motor.
INCIDENT VS. EMERGENCY
To distinguish between an incident and an emergency, first locate the stalled car by checking the select panel on the first floor or the indicator above the hoistway door. In a traction type of elevator, look at the counterweights. If the counterweights can be seen on the first floor, the elevator car is on the fifth floor in a six-story building. Next, communicate with the victim(s) by using the communication device found in most elevators. It might be a telephone or a two-way intercom to a lobby or central reporting station. At this time, you can determine if you have an incident or an emergency, if it is not already obvious.
RESCUE OPERATIONS
Elevator rescue operations are categorized as primary, secondary, and emergency.
Primary Removal Procedures
The least complex operation, primary rescue, is used for an incident. After communicating with the victim, instruct the victim to pull out the emergency bell, which will be ringing at this time. The loud bell adds to the anxiety of the situation.
Next, have the occupant push the “door open” button inside the car. Sometimes, the door will open at this point. If that procedure does not work, have the person push on the car door to make sure the door is closed. The elevator cab itself has only one door located inside the elevator. The hoistway door is located on every floor. In a six-story building, there are six hoistway doors.
Also, check all hoistway doors to see if any are open on the floor landings. If any of the doors have opened, a safety mechanism automatically stops the car`s movement.
Power to the stalled elevator must be shut off. This requires that a firefighter be as-signed to deenergizing the elvator as well as following all appropriate lock-out/tag-out procedures. This firefighter must remain at the electrical panel for the duration of the incident.
If after doing all of the above, the car still fails to move, open the hoistway door using an appropriate elevator key. The most common key for sliding elevator single or double doors is the GAL drop key shown above. Keep one on all rescue trucks and one in all machinery rooms in buildings where this type of key is used. The key is characterized by a hinged working end that drops 907 into place to lift the bar behind the hoistway door. It has a collar around the shaft, which measures the depth of the hoistway door. The key kept permanently in the machinery room of the building should be adjusted and locked to the depth of that particular door with the Allen-type screw provided on the collar. The collar of the key kept on the rescue truck, of course, should not be adjusted or locked because hoistway door depths vary.
The hoistway door should have a round hole at the top next to the leading edge. The presence of this entry hole is required on the first and last floors of an elevator bank. In many modern installations, this entry hole is on all hoistway doors on all landings. This makes it more convenient for rescuers. It should also eliminate the need for forcible entry, thereby preventing extensive damage to the doors.
Insert the drop key into the entry hole horizontally. Keep both sections aligned. Push the key until the hinged section drops behind the hoistway door. Now, turn the key away from the leading edge of the hoistway door until you meet some type of resistance. Apply pressure against the resistance to disengage and lift the hoistway door lock. Push the hoistway door away from the leading edge. If the car door is there, push on the car door clutch, and pull back to open the car door. About 10 pounds of pressure are needed to pull back the car door.
Assist the passenger(s) from the car. Passengers will have to climb up or down to reach the landing if the car is stalled above or between landings. If possible, take the passengers up and out; they could fall into an open shaft when taken down and out. If you must take the person down and out, cover the open shaft using a ladder or an interior wooden door, which can be taken off its hinges in no time. When taking a passenger down with a portable ladder, always secure him with a rope. If primary removal procedures fail, move to secondary removal procedures.
Secondary Removal Procedures
If an elevator mechanic has not already been summoned to the scene, request that one be called. The telephone number of the maintenance company should be in the machinery room. Always shut off the power to the motor when secondary or emergency removal procedures are implemented. Send two members with forcible entry tools and a radio to the machinery room to shut off power to the motor only–this switch has “480 volts” on it. Do not shut off the power to the lights; this switch is identified by a “110 volts” notation. Shutting the power to the lights could cause the passengers to panic.
For electric traction/cable-type elevators, the machinery room is located at the top of the shaft, the most popular place; at the bottom of the shaft; or two floors above the highest floor serviced by the elevator. In hydraulic/piston-type elevators, the machinery room is located alongside the car on the lowest landing serviced by the elevator. It could be to the left of, to the right of, or behind the car. The door should be marked “Elevator Machinery Room.”
An elevator key will not open the room, which is locked with a padlock or cylinder-type lock. Building maintenance personnel, if available, should have a key. If not, you will have to use forcible entry. In the hydraulic/piston-type elevator, a T-handle bleeder valve is inside the hydraulic fluid reservoir tank. Turning the valve inward and clockwise releases the hydraulic fluid into the tank; the elevator then begins to descend slowly.
Once inside the machinery room, determine which shaft contains the stalled car. The power switches should be numbered or lettered. If in doubt, shut off all elevators in the bank after ascertaining that all elevators are clear of passengers. Members should remain at the machinery room for the duration of the operation to ensure that power is not turned back on. If personnel needs arise and members cannot remain, then lock-out/tag-out is required. On completion of this operation, do not restore power. The elevator mechanic will check out the elevator and determine if power should be restored or repairs must be made.
Note: When operating in the machinery room, never step on the smoke-ventilation hole grating over the shaft. Many times, this grating is not safely secured or has been replaced with cardboard, chicken wire, or some other flimsy material. A rescuer stepping on this insecure grating could fall into the shaft. Also, watch for any electrical hazards. If the problem seems to be a defective fuse, do not replace it. Have an elevator mechanic replace it. Sometimes, elevators in the same bank require different size fuses because of differing weight restrictions.
If the stalled car is not on the first or last floor and does not have an entry hole in the hoistway door or is in a multicar bank, you may be able to gain entry by “poling.” Use a thin pole, about six or 12 feet long, with a hook on it. It can be obtained commercially or made from a thin piece of strong wood and is similar to a “slim Jim” used to enter automobiles. Poling can be done from the landing above, below, or alongside the stalled car. Insert the pole between the striking post and the hoistway door to trip the lock by depressing the roller or pushing on the locking arm. If all else fails, wait for the elevator mechanic, unless you have a true emergency (see below).
Emergency Removal Procedures
If you have a true emergency (FIP) and the officer in command feels compelled to use the emergency removal procedures, certain SOPs must be followed. Shut off power to the stalled car. Bring all other elevator cabs (not involved in the rescue) in the same bank to the first floor and remove them from service.
You can use either of two emergency removal methods:
Top hatch removal. Most elevators are required to have a top hatch that can be removed from the top of the car. This hatch cannot be removed from inside the car. Normally, two slide bolts hold the top hatch in place. Most laws prohibit welding or screwing in the top hatches, but this is occasionally done.
–Open the hoistway door on the landing above the stalled car.
–Provide adequate lighting by electricity or battery.
–Lower a portable ladder to the roof of the car.
— Climb onto the roof. No more than two rescuers, always secured by a rope and equipped with a radio, should be on the roof at a time.
–Open the hatch, sliding the bolts. Forcible entry may be required, so have forcible entry tools readily available.
–Lower a small suitcase/folding-type ladder to the rescuers; place the ladder in the car.
–Have one member enter the stalled car; the other member remains on the roof. The member in the car determines the order in which passengers will ascend. Passengers exhibiting the most serious injuries should exit first. The firefighter must take charge of this situation, or panic will set in.
–Secure each ascending passenger with a rope. Remain in physical contact with the passenger(s) at all times.
Never work under a stalled car.
Side door removal. In multicar banks, passengers may exit from the side door, if the car is so equipped. Secure the firefighter with a rope at all times during this operation.
–Bring a second car parallel to the stalled car.
–Shut power in both cars.
–Open the side door of the rescue car with a key provided by the mechanic, or force entry.
–Lean over, and open the side door of the stalled car.
–Use wooden planks (2 inches 2 8 inches or wider) of sufficient lengths (six to eight feet) as a bridge between the cars.
–The firefighter crosses over the bridging from the rescue car to the stalled car and enters the stalled car. As is the case in top-hatch removal, the firefighter assumes control of the removal operation.
— Secure passengers with rope. Maintain physical contact.
–After the passenger(s) and rescuer(s) are in the rescue car, restore power to the rescue car only.
Roof or side removal operations are complex. The potential for injury to passengers and firefighters in these operations mandates that they be undertaken only as a last resort.
FORCIBLE ENTRY
Use forcible entry only in a true emergency and under the direct supervision of an elevator mechanic. Forcing the doors may twist the lock or push the door off its hangers or out of its track and cause it to fall into the car, possibly injuring the passengers. Use extreme care when employing forcible entry.
High-pressure air bag system. This is the preferred method of forcible entry. Make a small purchase–only about one inch is needed–with a pry-type tool high on the door edge. Place as high as possible an air bag between the leading edge of the door and the jamb. Position the air bag so that the center of the bag is as close to the door edge as possible. This increases spreading capacity. SLOWLY inflate the air bag until the hoistway door opens.
Rabbit tool. Just as when using air bags, insert the jaw of the rabbit tool high on the leading edge of the door after a purchase has been made. SLOWLY open the jaw until the hoistway door opens.
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(Top) Electric traction type elevator. (Bottom) Piston/hydraulic type elevator. (Photos by author.)
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(top) GAL elevator drop key. (bottom) Using the elevator drop key through the hoistway door.
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“Smoke” (ventilation) hole in machinery room.
GARY SIEGEL recently retired from the Fire Department of New York, where he served for 24 years, the past five as an instructor at the FDNY Fire Academy. He is presently an instructor at the Rockland County Fire Training Center in Pomona, New York, and a New York State Supplemental Fire & Rescue Instructor.
