Elevators and EMP'S

[MollysMom]

I was on the elevator at work today and had a strange thought. How would a person survive if you were on an elevator and an EMP happened between floors? I use the elevator often, I have no food, water etc. What would you do?

[bama]

get familiar with your elevator and shaft. is there an escape hatch? can the doors be pried open? if you do get them open, is there a ladder that you can climb?

i too am often in an elevator (man lift) at work. luckily for me, the doors are manual. above 3rd floor, there is a ladder that can be taken to the top (approx 10 stories, with no actual floors between), then it would be stairs back down.

also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to carry a small penlight at the least, because those elevator shafts can be DARK places.

[westend]

Most elevators have manual brake defaults so the lucky bit is that it will stop. The next step will be confirming it's not just a simple power outage. Once you know for sure it's bigger, try the doouse if it looks like you may be at least near a floor, use something solid to pound on the door rhythmically --yelling wastes too much energy-- if that doesn't work , then crack the roof. Unfortunately, many elevator hatches are secured from the top, outside...locked shut.

[rancher1913]

when I worked at vail resorts if we had an elevator break down we had to have the guests out within 15 minutes and most times we could do it in 5 minutes.

[Explorer]

Just be glad you weren't on a airplane, then you die for sure.

[backwoods]

Used to get stuck in an elevator a lot at work. We could usually force the doors open and climb up or jump down to the next floor. Which ever was closer.

[Awnry Abe]

Just use the phone that's in there and call someone.

[logbuilder]

Originally Posted by CrownRanch

Just use the phone that's in there and call someone.

Uh, didn't the OP indicate it is an EMP related outage? If so, don't expect any phone to work. I would agree that the pen light and possibly an extra battery or two would be a great idea that you could probably always have on you when you use the elevator. Also, in a building with elevators, I would hope someone would have responsibility for clearing all the elevators. Does your company have a safety team? If so, I would certainly hope that is on their list.

Along those lines, I just got C.E.R.T. certified. Great course. I recommend it. It was offered free in my area. There were many in the class that were from companies, retirement homes, EMT, fire, and there was a handful of us taking it as individuals. I was very impressed at how deep some of the preparations were. One gentleman was telling me at his company, they had a couple of trailers on their lot filled with supplies that would be needed in the case of some disaster. The company was planning for ~3 days and then I assume people would have made their way home or were taken to medical care if needed. In general, they were preparing to take care of their needs best as they could until official first responders could get to them.

One major takeaway for me was that I needed to get a much more complete first aid kit put together. And, I am going to find a refresher course in first aid and take it. It has been decades since my last training.

[logbuilder]

BTW, on the flashlights, it is generally thought that most simple ones will work as long as they have no circuitry and no LEDs. Metal ones like a MagLite are considered even better because of shielding. However, who knows for sure.

[stanb999]

Whatever you do. Don't be like these people.

[AngieM2]

Stan - that is so pathcally funny.

[MollysMom]

Okay, that is so funny! I work at a hospital, so maybe I would be better off than some who work in a smaller business. I am short so reaching a ceiling is out, unless others are in the elevator. I would rather be on an escalator! At least I can walk up or down the thing!