Elevators in High-Rise Buildings: Safety, Compliance & Rescue
In the earlier years (1980-1990) in most of the main cities like Mumbai, Delhi, etc., buildings used to be 5 to 10 stories. The Local fire brigades had ladders which were popularly known as TURN TABLE LADDERS OR SNORKELS which had just enough reach for firemen to rescue trapped persons in these buildings, IN fact those days one could see the board on the floor lobbies ‘ IN CASE OF FIRE, DO NOT USE THE ELEVATORS. As urbanization crept in and then at an accelerated pace, high-rise buildings became the norm in most cities. These towering structures rely heavily on elevators, not just for convenience but also for safety.
Modern elevator technology plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of occupants, particularly during emergencies like fires, earthquakes, and power failures. Understanding how elevators contribute to high-rise safety is essential for building designers, facility managers, and occupants and most important knowing the laws of the state as the permissions for the project depend on the implementation and compliance. In the early nineties, every building above 7 stories needed to have a FIRE LIFT with a FIREMANS SWITCH. The definition of the fire lift was spelled out in the National Building Code, Bureau of Indian Standards, and the book of the Chief Electrical Inspector of the state
Fire Lifts need to have the following:
- They should be running in RCC shafts with a wall thickness that would ensure water resistance, no transfer of heat or flames, and design certified by the structural consultant stating that meets with the norms.
- The elevator cars and doors should be made of Mild Steel or Stainless Steel which would have panel thickness with two hours of fire-rated doors; would be designed to ensure no fire flame passe.
- The elevator should have a speed that will enable it to travel to the topmost landing nonstop in one minute.
- Should have a fireman’s switch. This switch is to be used in an emergency of fire, only by the firemen; once this switch is actuated by the fireman he takes control of the elevator and uses it judiciously in rescuing the trapped persons.
Later in 2022 in the state of Maharashtra, it became mandatory to have a FIRE EVACAUATION LIFT for buildings above 70 meters in height. This today is mandatory in the state of Maharashtra, Firemen exclusively use this lift for firemen in rescue operation and it is the duty of the managing committee of the building as per law to keep this lift in working conditions. The salient features of these elevators are as follows
- The lift cabin is made of non-combustible material.
- All side panels are sandwiched type filled with ceramic wool with 2 2-hour fire rating.
- The trap door is provided on the roof for the emergency exit.
- Landing and Caer door should be fire-rated with a fire-rated vision panel.
- Two operating consoles are provided; one on the lift and the other on the ground floor.
- Firemen’s toggle switch, which allows him to take control of the lift during a fire operation.
- The two-way communication system between the lift car and the person on the landing.
- 30 minutes battery backup.
- Jerk less back up system.
- Manual change-over switch with socket provision for external generator connectivity.
