Sunday evening: the lift jolts and stops. The doors won’t open and the display goes quiet. For the people in the car, those are long minutes. For me, as a lift technician, it’s the start of a procedure that always has to be just as calm and careful.
In this article I explain what to do if you’re stuck in a lift, what caretakers and property managers should (and shouldn’t) do, and what the technician actually does on site.
If you’re stuck in a lift: the essentials
Stay calm. A lift that has stopped doesn’t simply fall. Lifts have several independent safety devices: the brake, the safety gear and the overspeed governor. Most of the time the lift has detected something unusual and stopped itself: the safety systems are doing their job.
Press the alarm button. It’s usually the one with the bell symbol. Hold it down for a few seconds. In most lifts this connects you by intercom to an emergency call centre that is staffed around the clock. Tell them clearly:
- which building and address you’re at (it’s often on a sign in the car),
- how many people are in the car,
- whether anyone is injured, struggling to breathe or needs medication.
If you have mobile signal, you can also call the number displayed in the car. If there’s danger to life or a medical emergency, call 144 (ambulance in Switzerland) or 112 straight away.
Never try to climb out yourself. This is the most important sentence in this article. Don’t try to force the doors open or squeeze through a gap. If the car has stopped between two floors, there is an open shaft below the door sill. Serious accidents rarely happen inside a stationary lift; they happen during attempts like these to get out alone.
Wait, and make yourself heard. Sit down if you can and keep away from the doors. Talk to each other and reassure children. Once the alarm call has got through, help is on its way.
For caretakers and property managers: what to do and what not to do
Often it’s the caretaker who first notices that someone is trapped: shouting through the door, a call from a resident, a message from the emergency call centre.
What you should do:
- Call the lift company’s on-call service, if the emergency call centre hasn’t already done so. That number belongs somewhere clearly visible in the caretaker’s office and in the lift’s logbook.
- Talk to the people in the car, through the landing door or over the intercom. Tell them help is on its way and that they should stay in the car.
- Work out roughly which floor the car is at, and get access ready for the technician to the building and to the machine room or control cabinet: keys, lighting, a clear path.
- In a medical emergency, call 144 immediately.
What you should not do:
- Open the landing doors yourself, not even with an emergency unlocking key, unless you are trained and authorised to do so.
- “Try something” on the main switch or the controller to get the lift going again.
- Help people climb out through a gap.
Well-meant help is the biggest risk here. A lift that moves while someone is halfway out is the worst case there is.
What the technician actually does on site
On an on-call job every minute counts, but rushing helps nobody. This is how I carry out an emergency rescue.
1. Make contact and locate the car
First I talk to the people in the car: is everyone OK? How many are there? Then I find out exactly where the car is. At a floor? Between floors? How far from the nearest landing? That decides how I proceed.
2. People first, then the fault
The order is clear: people come out first, then we diagnose. Nobody enjoys waiting in the car while the technician reads the fault log.
I check that all landing doors are closed and locked, and switch the lift off at the main switch so that it can’t start moving unexpectedly during the rescue.
3. Bring the car level with a floor
If the car isn’t level with a floor, it has to be brought there first. On a traction lift with a machine room, that usually means releasing the brake by hand, briefly and under control, and moving the car slowly with the handwheel until it is level with the nearest floor. Markings on the ropes or an indicator tell me when the car is level. It’s precision work, down to the millimetre.
On machine-room-less lifts, the same is often done from the control cabinet, using a brake release device or an emergency drive. On hydraulic lifts, the car is usually lowered in a controlled way. The principle is always the same: slowly, under control, and ready to stop the movement at any moment.
4. Only now: open the doors
Only when the car is level with the floor and can no longer move do I open the landing door with the emergency unlocking key. The people step out, and I help where needed. Then I close the landing door again and check that it is locked.
For the passengers that’s the relief; for me, the second part of the job begins.
5. Afterwards: check before the lift runs again
A lift that has trapped people doesn’t just go back into service. I look for the cause (lift fault diagnosis): door contacts, controller, drive, brake, power supply. I do test runs and check that the car stops cleanly at every floor and that the doors open and close properly. Only when I’m sure the lift is working perfectly does it go back into service. If not, it stays out of service and the owner is informed.
Finally, the call-out is documented: when, what, what caused it and what was done.
Why regular maintenance prevents entrapments
Many faults that trap people give warning signs beforehand: a door that sticks, a lift that no longer stops exactly level, an unfamiliar noise. During preventive maintenance, the technician spots these signs before they turn into an entrapment on a Sunday evening.
The owner of the lift is responsible for its safe operation. A maintenance contract with clear on-call hours, a working alarm system and reports that are taken seriously are the best prevention. If you’re a resident or caretaker, report anything unusual early. A note like “the door opened again twice yesterday” is worth its weight in gold to the technician.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an emergency rescue take?
It depends mainly on how quickly the technician gets there. That is set out in the maintenance contract and depends on the time of day and the distance. The rescue itself is usually quick once the technician is at the building.
Is it dangerous to be stuck in a lift?
Waiting in the car is safe. It becomes dangerous when someone tries to get out on their own, or when unauthorised people open the doors.
Will the air run out in the car?
No. That’s a common myth. Lift cars are not airtight: they have ventilation openings, and air also comes in through the gaps around the doors. It feels cramped, but the oxygen won’t run out.
What if the lights go out?
Lifts have emergency lighting that comes on during a power cut. Even without power, the technician can move the car by hand and get you out.
Are there rules about this?
In Switzerland, the Lifts Ordinance (SR 930.112) governs the safety of new lifts. The SN EN 81 series of standards covers, among other things, the construction of new lifts, the alarm system (SN EN 81-28) and improving the safety of existing lifts (SN EN 81-80). This is only a general pointer, not legal advice. Check with your lift company what applies to your installation specifically.
For technicians: more from the field
If you work on lifts yourself or want to get into the trade: in the Academia Técnico Pro and in my manuals for lift technicians I share what I’ve learned on sites and on call. Independent of any manufacturer, step by step, from real practice. There’s more in my new video “Lift steckt fest” (in German) on YouTube (@ramon.aufzugstechniker).
If this article helped you, I’d be grateful for your support.
Ramón, lift technician