Feasibility and Design Considerations of Emergency Evacuation by Elevators.
Feasibility and Design Considerations of Emergency
Evacuation by Elevators.
(2381 K)
Klote, J. H.; Alvord, D. M.; Levin, B. M.; Groner, N. E.
NISTIR 4870; 126 p. February 1992.
Sponsor:
General Services Administration, Washington, DC
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
Order number: PB94-163441
Keywords:
elevators (lifts); evacuation; emergencies; building
fires; computer models; evacuation time; handicapped;
life safety; office buildings; smoke control; occupants
Abstract:
Throughout most of the world, warning signs next to
elevators indicate they should not be used in fire
situations, and today's elevators have not been designed
for fire evacuation and should not be used for fire
evacuation. However, the idea of using elevators to
speed up fire evacuation and to evacuate persons with
disabilities has gained considerable attention. The
potential of elevator evacuation is so significant that
the U. S. General Services Administration (GSA) has
sponsored a research project at NIST to develop
techniques for occupant use of elevators during building
evacuations. This paper is the final report of that
project, and it addresses fundamental system
considerations, engineering design considerations,
design analysis, and human behavior. This paper shows
that use of elevators in additon to stairs during a fire
emergency allows occupants and firefighters an
additional system of vertical transportation. Even
through the focus of this paper is fire evacuation, much
of the information is also applicable to evacuation for
other emergencies. The results of a previous project to
develop smoke control of elevator systems are presented
in Appendix A. An interactive computer program ELVAC,
was written specifically for the analyses of this paper.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899