Online News--Developing Elevators that Function During Fires
In the afternnath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, U.S. fire experts are beginning to advocate the use of elevators in high-rise buildings throughout a fire, both to carry firefighters to the site of the blaze and as a secondary method (after stairwells) for evacuating building occupants. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has joined others to study ways to build "protected" elevators.
As reported at a recent conference in Malaysia1, NIST is working with the elevator industry to develop and test redundant, more reliable elevator-dedicated emergency power systems and waterproof elevator components. NIST is investigating software and sens-ing systems that can adapt to changing smoke and heat conditions, maintain safe and reliable operation, and not shut down during fire emergencies. Such changes could allow elevators to be operated with remote con-trol from the ground floor during fires, thus freeing urgently needed firefighters from elevator operation duties.