- Author
-
Klote, J. H.
|
Levin, B. M.
|
Groner, N. E.
- Title
- Feasibility of Fire Evacuation by Elevators at FAA Control Towers.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
George Mason Univ., Fairfax, VA
- Sponsor
- Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
- Report
-
NISTIR 5445
May 1994
110 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Keywords
-
evacuation
|
elevators (lifts)
|
air traffic control
|
building fires
|
emergencies
|
handicapped
|
life safety
|
smoke control
- Abstract
- Throughout most of the world, warning signs next to elevators indicated they should not be used in fire situations. Because these elevators have not been designed for fire evacuation, they should not be used for fire evacuation. However, the idea of using elevators for fire evacuation has gained considerable attention. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has sponsored a project to study the feasibility of elevator emergency evacuation at air traffic control towers. This paper describes this project including (1) a general discussion of elevator evacuation, (2) presentation of conceptual criteria for such elevator evacuation systems, and (3) application of that criteria to several ATCTs. It is concluded that elevator emergency evacuation is not feasible for existing ATCTs. This could change for some standard designs if water resistant elevator components are developed that make water protection of elevators feasible. However, elevator emergency evacuation is feasible for new ATCTs, and this would involve significant challenges concerning engineering and human factors.