Sure, everyone is afraid to get stuck in an elevator. And having heard stories that lifters are in no hurry to rescue people in trouble, they completely refuse to travel on such a device. However, many, having got into such an unpleasant situation, are in a hurry to get out on their own, not wanting to spend days and nights there waiting for salvation. Let's look at how to open the elevator doors manually.
Reasons for Forced Stops
An elevator is a complex electromechanical system that can fail at any time. At this moment, he can stop unscheduled, regardless of whether there are people inside or not.
Some of the reasons for the failure of the elevator are to blame for the people themselves. For example, if you jump in it, thereby creating a sharp weight difference, to which the system can respond by stopping.
It is also forbidden to open or, on the contrary, to press the doors of the elevator to each other, as well as to press all buttons in a row. This is especially true when traveling with children. It is better to exclude the presence of your guilt in the elevator stop, than then try to understand how to open the elevator doors from the outside without a key and other tools.
Of course, these reasons are not numerous and often do not lead to breakdowns of the elevator. The main ones are technical reasons that are not dependent on a person. The age of the elevator itself also influences, because from old age nothing has begun to work better.
What to do if stuck in an elevator?
If you still find yourself in such a situation, then the first thing you should not panic. This is by no means a way out, so you will not help yourself. Even if you know how to open elevator doors from the outside, you are inside and your experience may not be useful.
The next thing you can do is still call the elevator. A button is usually provided for this, but it may not exist in the old elevators a long time ago, or it simply won’t work. A number can also be written by which you can call the dispatcher, but communication in elevators is usually absent. It remains to call for help from the neighbors.
Now you just have to wait. You can sit on the floor, even if it is dirty: clothes can be washed.
It is not recommended that you try to get out on your own. It just seems easy, opened the door and went out, but no. Many elevators can’t be opened so easily, you need someone who knows how to open the elevator door with a key. By doing this yourself, you risk getting hurt if the elevator suddenly starts moving, or falls into the shaft.
Useful tips for stuck people
An experienced elevator knows how to open the elevator doors from the outside, and while you are waiting for him, you can use the following our tips:
- Always have a telephone with you. You will not find communications in the elevator, but there are applications and games on the phones that will help you pass the time. In addition, it can be used as a backlight to find the call button of the wizard or find the necessary item in the bag.
- Do not panic. Even if you are stuck alone, try to stay calm. But if you are stuck with someone else, then you should not panic at all. You do not know how a person will react in this situation, he may become ill, so you should be alert. Do not scare the rest with terrible stories about the days spent in elevators. Better get to know the person better and talk about interesting topics. Who knows, maybe the fact that you are stuck together will be a gift of fate.
- You should always have a light meal in your pocket. This is not only the case when you can get stuck in the elevator. It is not known how life can turn out. Especially you need to consider this if you are stuck with children.
- Try to relax and take a nap. This will help not to waste energy, save the nervous system. You can use the techniques of meditation and soothing breathing.
What is absolutely impossible to do?
When you have informed about your situation and are expecting a master, the main thing is not to aggravate your situation. There are a few caveats to this.
Firstly, it’s usually safer to stay in the elevator. This will help protect you from electric shock or personal injury while you try to figure out how to open the elevator doors from the outside. After all, you do not know what exactly caused the stop. In the shaft, you can inadvertently activate some mechanism, and the elevator can start moving. Therefore, if your situation is not critical, stay in place until the rescuers arrive.
Secondly, never smoke or use matches in a stuck elevator. Thus, you reduce the amount of oxygen contained there. It can also lead to an additional alarm, which will delay your release for an indefinite period.
Can I open the elevator doors myself?
As we already wrote, it is better not to risk it and not try to open the elevator doors yourself. However, there are times when there is no way out and you need to immediately get out. For example, a fire or other emergency could start. In modern elevators, there may be special buttons that can help open doors in this case.
It is quite difficult to get out on your own. Many elevators are equipped with door closing mechanisms that are easy to open from the outside and almost impossible from the inside.
The use of improvised tools such as umbrellas, canes, keys, etc. is recommended. You can try to figure out how to open the elevator doors from the outside with a hook. But it is worth keeping in mind that those doors that you see from the inside are not all. They are followed by another, which will have to be opened with a hook. It can be bent in the form of a flag and pry off the door closing mechanism. But this helps not always and not in all lifts.
When those same external doors open, special layering hooks the rollers where the locking device moves. You need to move these layers to the side, and then you can open the door. Do not forget that opening doors can control electrical contact. In this case, use a lever or roller, which operate from the installed in the cab layering.
All these manipulations can harm people stuck in the elevator. Therefore, it is worth weighing the pros and cons and decide whether to take the risk or better wait for a specialist.
Conclusion
How to open the elevator doors from the outside, you now know. We wish you less likely to get into unpleasant situations like this.