The firefighter’s hat will illuminate, the elevator floor indicator may blink, and the elevator will then indicate to passengers to exit when the doors open.
Some buildings will have a dedicated firefighter’s elevator or elevator bank that services all floors and that can be used in an emergency. This lift can be used in fire service and will be labeled with “Firefighter’s Elevator” or “Fireman’s Lift”. Do not use the lift if an alarm was sent from outside one of the floor landings or machine room. This can be verified by checking if the firefighter’s hat blinks instead of illuminates solid.
Some elevators do not have a cabinet but still do have fire switches.
The firefighters hat, the letters “FS”, or the words “Fire Service” should appear on the floor indicator to indicate that the elevator is in firefighter’s control.
To test the call cancel button, select a floor. Press the call cancel button to deselect all floors. In motion, this will stop the elevator and park it at the nearest available floor. To test the emergency stop button, select a floor. The stop button should deselect the floor immediately. In motion, this will activate the emergency brakes and bring the elevator to a stop. You may have to move the stop switch back into the “RUN” position to use the lift again. To test the door open and door close buttons press and hold them. Upon releasing them the door should stop moving and reverse direction. That means that when the door is closing the door should reopen, and when the door is opening the door should reclose. The door automatically closing is important to prevent smoke from entering the elevator, and the door automatically reopening is important to prevent closure on limbs. Door sensors should be rendered inoperable to prevent smoke from holding the lift door open. Some lifts only have a door open button and do not have a call cancel button. In this case, pressing and holding a specific floor should close the door and select it. Releasing that floor should reopen the door. All floor buttons should illuminate, even if they are normally locked by a security system.
It is recommended to select a floor a few floors above where you started. This will allow you to test for fire and smoke and later change to the stairs before smoke gets too thick. Be aware of any rescues you may need to make with occupants unable to descend stairs, such as the elderly or those in wheelchairs.
When exiting the elevator, turn the key switch from “ON” to “HOLD”. This will lock out the lift and prevent people from using it. The key can also be removed in this position.
