Lifts - Ding Dong,

[ONT-CA]

Emergency crews have a special key they insert into the control panel that negates all entered instructions but their own.

[sammybonny]

If you press and hold your required floor, whilst holding the close door button (not keep open door button) until the lift doors close and the lift moves. Then you will go directly to that floor without stopping at any other floors, whether they have been requested on that floor or even been pressed by the people inside the lift.

This is a trick used by the emergency service people and I get a lift to myself or to my floor very quickly.

I had heard this one too and tried it but it didn't work!

 

Maybe it would appear to work sometimes, but it was just that no one had pressed the call button so the lift didnt stop and went straight to the floor wanted.

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Forums mobile app

[kalos]

Taken from SCHINDLER lift service manual (which P&O use)

 

Emergency control systemsFirefighters’ service and emergency operation feature.

Every building’s disaster or fire drill procedure should include information regarding the proper operation of the firefighters’ service feature.

Firefighters’ service is an elevator control system designed to protect passengers and aid firefighters in combating fires.

The system is activated by a key switch or by the building’s smoke detectors on each floor.

The switch may be located in the elevator monitoring center or it may be located separately at a designated floor.

Hall fire service switch Car fire call cancel button Car fire service switch .

Firefighters’ service provides for the automatic and immediate return of all elevator cars to a designated floor where they will park with doors open, and will not go to others floors.

All the call buttons,emergency stop switch and signal lights, except the car position indicator, will be inoperative. In some systems, if the sensor is activated at the designated floor, elevators will be recalled to an alternative emergency exit floor.

During a fire or emergency, the elevator can be operated only from the car using the in-car key-operated emergency switch. Only trained emergency service personnel should operate elevators with this key operated switch.The keys to this switch should be kept where they are immediately accessible to authorized personnel but where they are not available to the public or any unauthorized personnel.

 

 

Warning ! In case of fire do not use elevators, use stairs or other emergency exits. Use of elevators during a fire can impede fire fighting efforts and can result in severe personal injury or death.

To reset operation initiated from fire alarm system, the fire alarm signal must be reset, then the Phase I switch must be cycled to “RESET” momentarily then to “OFF.”

Edited May 1, 2018 by kalos

[majortom10]

Having spent over 34yrs as an operational firefighter and been to many emergency calls in high rise buildings have never recommended that anyone uses a lift as a means of escape for obvious reasons and have never taken control of lift cars for use in an emergency which is against policy to use to get equipment or personnel to upper floors. The only time ever taken full control of lifts in an emergency is when somebody is stuck in a lift which is a totally different scenario where the main power is isolated and the lift operated manually. Never in 34 yrs had keys on an appliance for use inside lift car to take control in an emergency as it would be totally impracticable to carry that many keys needed for all different lifts. Only keys carried were ones used to open doors from the outside which are pretty standard and only used for rescuing people stuck in lift cars.

[ONT-CA]

Having spent over 34yrs as an operational firefighter and been to many emergency calls in high rise buildings have never recommended that anyone uses a lift as a means of escape for obvious reasons and have never taken control of lift cars for use in an emergency which is against policy to use to get equipment or personnel to upper floors. The only time ever taken full control of lifts in an emergency is when somebody is stuck in a lift which is a totally different scenario where the main power is isolated and the lift operated manually. Never in 34 yrs had keys on an appliance for use inside lift car to take control in an emergency as it would be totally impracticable to carry that many keys needed for all different lifts. Only keys carried were ones used to open doors from the outside which are pretty standard and only used for rescuing people stuck in lift cars.

 

Of course we can understand the conditions you put forward but by far the use of lifts on a ship for emergency reasons are almost 100% medical. All medical emergency crews are equipped with the required key.

[kalos]

Having spent over 34yrs as an operational firefighter and been to many emergency calls in high rise buildings have never recommended that anyone uses a lift as a means of escape for obvious reasons and have never taken control of lift cars for use in an emergency which is against policy to use to get equipment or personnel to upper floors. The only time ever taken full control of lifts in an emergency is when somebody is stuck in a lift which is a totally different scenario where the main power is isolated and the lift operated manually. Never in 34 yrs had keys on an appliance for use inside lift car to take control in an emergency as it would be totally impracticable to carry that many keys needed for all different lifts. Only keys carried were ones used to open doors from the outside which are pretty standard and only used for rescuing people stuck in lift cars.

 

I think you would need a very big key ring if you had to have a key for every lift model.

Where I work the security gate would keep these keys which he would give to you as you say if someone is stuck in a lift or you requested them .

H&S weekly checks ,we test the fire alarms Monday morning 10am .The time is chosen as should we fail to switch it off ,the fire service would be on their way .

Any lifts just park up ground level with doors open and cease to operate.

The same goes for our emergency exits they all unlock also the works entrance barriers both stay open automatic for fire crews to enter by.

Talking of automatic barriers ,we were staying at the new prem -inn in Manchester and someone

meddled with one of the fire alarms ,so they could not reset it .

Within minutes you could hear the emergency services on their way .Everyone was evacuated to the car park.

The next thing to happen was like a scene out of the movie Blazing Saddles .

The fire tenders arrived at the barrier which had not gone up , they needed to take a ticket from the machine. A fire engine is way to high so the driver could not reach down to get the ticket ,nor could he open his cab door due to the narrow entrance .

One of the staff raced over to press the green button and then gave the fire crew a ticket to enter.

Bet that was soon sorted out.

[Vampire Parrot]

Talking of automatic barriers ,we were staying at the new prem -inn in Manchester and someone

meddled with one of the fire alarms ,so they could not reset it .

Within minutes you could hear the emergency services on their way .Everyone was evacuated to the car park.

Very different to an event that happened to my wife and myself a few years ago in a high rise hotel in Miami.

 

One of the very first things we always do in a hotel is identify where the nearest two fire escapes are. Back in 1981 I was in a building on fire; getting out through a smoke filled corridor was one of the scariest things I've been through.

 

So two minutes after we started unpacking, the fire alarm went off. We immediately grabbed our "grab bags" (passport, credit cards), our keys and headed for the fire escape. We met just one other group of people in the corridor, a man with his two children asking what was happening and was it a real fire alarm. I said "I don't know and so we're leaving and you should do the same". He headed towards the elevator, I called him and said "No no, if the power fails you could fry, follow me", and down the fire escape we went.

 

In reception all was almost normal - the alarm was going off but no one was reacting. I went to reception and asked if the alarm was real and they said we don't know, two fire sensors have gone off and we are waiting for confirmation (!!!!)

 

It turns out it was a real fire which was extinguished before it could have spread.

 

About 18 years ago I got hold of the following document

https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/fire/reports&notes/HotelFireSafety.rtf

and obtained permission from the LAPD to have it distributed to various airlines (as their staff often stay in hotels) and also the BBC. It's well worth a read.