Stuck in an elevator? Here are some steps to Take

Image result for stuck in an elevator

There are few situations worse than being trapped in an elevator to elevate the pulse of anyone afraid of heights, confined spaces, or both. If you should ever find yourself lodged unfortunately between floors (or are currently reading this inside a stuck elevator), here is just about everything you should do to ensure a speedy escape.

The thing to keep in mind is that, unless you find yourself in a life-or-death situation, the best thing to do is to call for help and wait for it. Many of your attempts to escape can actually lead you to more danger. To learn how to escape a stranded elevator as safely as you can, follow these steps.

  1. Stay Calm.
Image titled Escape a Stranded Elevator Step 1

As soon as you realize you’re stranded, you may feel a natural urge to panic. However, you have to tell yourself to put mind over matter, and to stay as calm as possible.

If you start panicking, your body will start to feel the effects, and you’ll only be making it more difficult for yourself to think clearly, and therefore making it harder for you to find a way to escape.

Image titled Escape a Stranded Elevator Step 1Bullet1
  • Take a deep breath and relax your body. It is hard for your mind to be in panic when your body is relaxed.
  • If you’re not alone in the elevator, then panicking is more likely to make the people around you panic. And having multiple people freaking out in an elevator is not the way to safety. Instead, do your best to be a calming presence to the people around you.

2. Find a light source if the lights are out.

Image titled Escape a Stranded Elevator Step 2

If the elevator is dark, you can create some light by using a key chain flash light or opening your cell phone or PDA.

Try your best not to keep the device on for so long that battery power is drained. Creating light will help you see the buttons and get a better sense of your situation.

3. Press the call button.

Image titled Escape a Stranded Elevator Step 3

Press the call button to contact a technician to help you. This will alert maintenance personnel there is a problem with the elevator. This is the quickest and best way to get help much better and safer than trying to take the DIY approach.

4. If there’s no answer, try calling for help.

Image titled Escape a Stranded Elevator Step 4

If there is no response to pressing the call button, check your cell phone for reception. If you have any reception, call your local emergency services number e.g. 999 for Kenya.   If there is still no response, press the alarm button a few times.

Image titled Escape a Stranded Elevator Step 4Bullet1
Image titled Escape a Stranded Elevator Step 5

5. Press the “door open” button.

Sometimes, this button can just get jammed, and if you press it, it’ll open the elevator right up. You may be laughing, but you’d be surprised by how many people call for help to escape a stranded elevator only to find that they just have to press the “door open” button again.

You can also try the “door close” button, which may have gotten jammed as well. You can also try pressing the button of a floor below where the elevator is currently resting.

Image titled Escape a Stranded Elevator Step 5Bullet2
Image titled Escape a Stranded Elevator Step 6

6. If you can’t call for help, try to get the attention of the people outside the elevator

If you’ve tried the call button or tried calling for help and have gotten no answer, then your next bet can be to try to shout or call for help.

You can try to bang on the door of the elevator with shoes or other objects and yell to alert passersby. Depending on the sound transmittance of the door, tapping firmly with a key on the door may make a loud sound throughout the elevator shaft.

Shouting can help alert people who are outside the elevator to your situation, but you should know that shouting or yelling excessively can also cause you to panic more, so make sure you try to stay reasonably calm when you are calling for help.

Image result for stuck in an elevator

8. Wait it out.

If you are not in an extreme life-or-death situation, just wait it out. In a best case scenario, people will notice the elevator is not working in minutes and you’ll be out in no time

If you’ve successfully made contact with emergency services, just remember that they’ll be on their way as quickly as possible; entrapment calls are taken seriously and you could be freed in thirty minutes or less.

Image titled Escape a Stranded Elevator Step 7Bullet1

Pull or push the “stop” button to ensure the elevator doesn’t move while you’re attempting to crawl out.

Image titled Escape a Stranded Elevator Step 8Bullet1

Here’s a short video illustration on the steps to take;

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *