Why shouldn't you get into an elevator during a fire? Do elevators go towards the heat?

Question

This is a real question...

Answer 1

Wow a lot of people tackled this question and there are alot of good answers! It is true that if the power goes out you could get trapped, smoke can enter the elevator chamber, most newer elevators do have a recall feature, and the best policy is to always use the stairs!

Basically, the problem with older elevators is they have a nasty habit of going to the floor with the fire. This is because the heat from the fire has been known to short out the call system wiring and the elevator controller interprets it the same as someone hitting the button. So if you are riding in the elevator, the dang thing may deliver you right to the floor with the fire! So in a sense, yeah, they can respond to heat, if it's hot enough to screw up the controls.

Newer elevators are usually connected to the building's fire alarm system and/or a series of smoke detectors outside the elevator shaft. In the event of a fire, the system overrides all call buttons and immediately takes the car to a pre-designated floor (generally the lowest level unless that's the floor the fire was detected on.) The cars can then only be used until the alarm system is reset or the system is overridden with a key. (Firefigters can use this feature. When in override mode, the controller only responds to manual controls from inside the car.)

I hope this answers your question.

Answer 2

The elevator could go toward the heat. For example if there is a fire alarm in a twenty storey building and you get on the elevator at the 10th floor, a serious fire on the 5th floor could melt the elevator button there signaling the elevator to stop at the 5th floor (or someone may have pushed the button before taking the stairs). When you arrive at the 5th floor and the door automatically opens you could be engulfed in flames with no easy escape. It is always better to be safe than sorry and take the stairs.

Answer 3

Several reasons, the elevator could catch fire, and then you're trapped inside with virtually no place to go. A fire escape can give you some options -- if only up or down -- you can try to avoid the fire and find help.

Or, the elevator could open up on a floor that is engulfed with flame. If the doors open automatically, there is a back-draft and you're gonna be fired.

Or, the cables could melt, snap, and you plummet.

The fire exits are the best safety route, because the walls around a fire safety exit are made with fire retardant walls (fire walls) which help to prevent the fire from burning through. Eventually they will, but the person (people) seeking a safe exist can tell where the smoke and fire are coming from and avoid that direction. In an elevator, you go where the thing takes you, with more % of dire consequences.

Answer 4

Smoke can rise during a fire directly into the elevator shaft. Most elevator shafts are nowhere nearly as well fire-protected as the emergency stairwell. So you could asphyxiate there.

Fire can also cause a power outage and you could be trapped in the elevator during the fire.

If everyone used the elevator, there would be a massive jamup of people. It would stop on every floor and soon no one else would be able to get on, everyone panicking, etc. The elevator doors could also open on the floor where the fire is!

Answer 5

Several reasons:

1) The fire may affect electrical power, which means you could get trapped in the elevator car while the building burns down around you

2) When elevators go into fire mode, they go to the first floor and stay there, but they take their time, because it is assumed that people won't be using them, so it may be slower than just running down the stairs, and

3) What if you get in the elevator and select the floor where the fire is at? The doors will open whether you want them to or not and you could get flash fried (whereas if you're on foot, one would think that if you reach a door that is red hot, you'll consciously choose not to open it)

Answer 6

Yes elevators have special heat sensors. The bottom of an elevator shaft is heated depending on which floor you need to go. If you are on 100 and need to get to the lobby, the bottom heats up, atrackting the elevator down. Sooo if there is a fire,... the elevator will be attracked to the heat. The elevator will try and move closest to the heat.. and the cord may melt. If the cord melts, the elevator will fall, and down will come baby basket and all.

Answer 7

No, elevators are run by electrical power. If a fire burns through the electrical wiring, the elevator will become stuck. Secondly, the elevator shaft will act as a chimney, delivering air to a fire, and allowing smoke from the fire to fill the space, thus possibly killing the people stuck on the elevator.

Answer 8

If there's fire in the elevator shaft, you're toast.

If the power goes out, the elevator stops. Do you want to be trapped in a burning building?

Heat can weaken the cables that hold up the elevator, or fire can destroy the motor which moves it. Either case, the elevator experiences a catastrophic drop.

Answer 9

Elevators does not go towards heat.
You should not get into elevators in case of fire because the elevator may stop between floors or take you to a floor where the fire is burning. Also the smoke (Carbon dioxide and monoxide) may be concentrated inside the container and hence the chances of asphyxiation or more.

Answer 10

Elevators use electricity and sometimes a short is what causes the fire, or the fire knocks out the electricity. You definitely don't want to be stuck in an elevator in a burning building. Good, thoughtful question.