Undoubtedly, everyone is afraid of getting stuck in an elevator. And having heard enough stories that elevator operators are in no hurry to rescue people in trouble, they completely refuse to travel on such a device. However, many, having found themselves in such an unpleasant situation, rush to get out on their own, not wanting to spend days and nights there in anticipation of salvation. Let's see how to open the elevator doors manually.
Reasons for forced shutdowns
An elevator is a complex electromechanical system that can fail at any moment. At this point, it may stop unplanned, whether there are people inside or not.
People themselves are to blame for some of the reasons for the breakdown of the elevator. For example, if you jump in it, thereby creating a sharp weight difference, to which the system can respond by stopping.
Alsoit is forbidden to open or, conversely, press the elevator doors to each other, as well as press all the buttons in a row. This is especially true when traveling with children. It's better to rule out your fault for stopping the elevator than later trying to figure out how to open the elevator doors from the outside without a key or other tools.
Of course, these reasons are few and often do not lead to elevator breakdowns. The main ones are technical reasons that do not depend on a person. The age of the elevator itself also affects, because nothing has started to work better from old age.
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 call the lifter after all. There is usually a button for this, but in older elevators it may not be there for a long time, or it simply will not work. A number may also be written by which the dispatcher can be called, but there is usually no connection in the elevators. It remains to call for help from the neighbors.
Now all you have to do is wait. You can sit on the floor, even if it is dirty: you can also wash your clothes.
It is still not recommended to try to get out on your own. It just seems easy, opened the door and went out, but no. Many elevators are not so easy to open, you need a person who knows how to openelevator door from the outside with a key. If you do this yourself, you risk injury if the elevator suddenly starts to move, or fall into the shaft.
Helpful tips for those stuck
An experienced elevator operator knows how to open the elevator doors from the outside, but while you are waiting, you can use our following tips:
- Always have your phone with you. You won't find communications in an elevator, but there are apps and games on phones to help you pass the time. In addition, it can be used as a backlight to find the button to call the wizard or find the necessary item in the bag.
- Don't panic. Even if you are stuck alone, try to remain 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 must be on the alert. Do not scare others with scary stories about the days spent in elevators. Get to know the person better and talk about interesting topics. Who knows, maybe being stuck together will be a godsend.
- You should always have a snack in your pocket. This does not only apply to the moment when you can get stuck in an elevator. It is not known how life can turn out. This is especially important to consider 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 meditation and calming breathing techniques.
What to do categoricallycan't?
When you have reported your situation and are waiting for the master, the main thing is not to aggravate your situation. There are a few caveats to this.
First, it's often safer to stay in the elevator. This will help protect you from electric shock or injury while you are trying 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 mine, you can accidentally activate some kind of mechanism, and the elevator can start moving. Therefore, if your situation is not critical, stay where you are until rescuers arrive.
Second, never smoke or use matches in a stuck elevator. Thus, you reduce the amount of oxygen contained there. It may also trigger an additional alarm that will delay your release indefinitely.
Can I open the elevator doors myself?
As we already wrote, it is better not to risk and not try to open the elevator doors yourself. However, there are times when there is no way out and you need to get out immediately. For example, a fire or other emergency could start. Modern elevators may have special buttons that can help open the doors in this case.
It turns out to be 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 to open from the inside.
The use of assistants is recommendedtools such as umbrellas, canes, keys, etc. You can try to figure out how to open the elevator doors from the outside with a hook. But it is worth bearing in mind that those doors that you see from the inside are not all. They are followed by another ones, 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 does not always help and not in all lifts.
When those same outer doors are opened, special layers hook 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 the opening of the doors can control the electrical contact. In this case, a lever or roller is used, which act from the tap installed in the cab.
All these manipulations can harm people stuck in the elevator. Therefore, it is worth weighing the pros and cons and deciding whether it is worth the risk or better to wait for a specialist.
Conclusion
How to open the elevator doors from the outside, you now know. We wish you to get into unpleasant situations like this less often.
