The Use of Elevators for Evacuation in Fire Emergencies in International Buildings (original) (raw)

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the use of elevators for occupant evacuation from high-rise buildings with a focus on the safety of mobility impaired occupants. It addresses the specifics of evacuation via elevators, relevant building codes, and its technical challenges. Information was collected on how selected buildings around the world incorporate elevators into their emergency evacuation procedures. Six building complexes around the world were identified and reviewed in this report. A section of this report is devoted to each building, providing general building information (height, number of floors etc.) and the building's evacuation procedures during fire emergencies, with a special focus on mobility impaired occupants. After discussing the limitations of the review process, the report gives an overview of the scientific background of the human factors of evacuation via elevators and identifies research gaps. Furthermore, methodological aspects of empirical evacuation research as well as potential beneficial measures for evacuation via elevators are discussed.