Whats the deal with fire lifts?

Question

In many buildings I find a lift with the sign "fire lift" over it and in the same lobby, you could have a sign saying "In case of fire, do not use lifts".

So are you supposed to use the lift in case of a fire or not? Or is the lift meant for the firemen to use? But aren't they supposed to not use the lift in case of fire?

Answer 1

Most newer "lifts" or elevators will recall to a designated floor if the fire alarm is activated and will not function UNLESS a firemen key is used to override the recall controls. Not all elevators have the override feature so that might explain why one was labeled "fire lift".

To answer to question on why would firemen use the elevator? Well, for one reason, the firemen know what floor the fire is on and aren't going to necessarily take the elevator to that floor. Also, the risk from using elevators in a fire (that aren't equipped with a recall feature) comes mainly from the elevators having a nasty habit of stopping on the floor with the fire. I think it has something to do with the switches shorting from the heat and the control system interprets that as someone pushing the call button. When the lifts are in fire mode, the control system ignores the call buttons and responds to manual inputs from inside the car only.

Answer 2

for firemen