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Lifts may save lives in emergencies – new
ISO technical report
Common wisdom dictates that we do not take lifts (elevators) when
evacuating buildings. However, a new ISO technical report reveals
that lifts may be viable escape options, and provides a decision
chart to help identify risks. These findings may save the lives of
people who have difficulties using stairs, such as the disabled, the
elderly, pregnant women, and small children.
Lifts (elevators) – Study of the use of lifts for evacuation during
an emergency ISO/TR 25743:2010 investigates and highlights the main
risks associated with using lifts to evacuate persons in various
types of emergencies including fires, explosions, chemical or
biological attacks, flooding, lightening or storm damage,
earthquakes, and gas leakage.
ISO/TR 25743 provides building designers and fire engineers with a
decision-making process to determine if a given design can enable
the safe use of lifts in an emergency for a particular building. The
report can be applied to lifts and buildings of any size, whether
new or existing.
ISO/TR 25743 includes an innovative easy-to-read chart, which guides
users through a yes/ no decision-making process asking questions
such as:
Each
answer leads to another question, or to an informed decision.
Detailed explanations are given in an annex.
'The report provides guidance, but clearly the final decision will
be taken by the building designer,' says Derek Smith, Project Leader
of ISO/TR 25743. 'Not all buildings are subject to the same risks
and it is up to the designer to identify the most important risks
for each structure and select the most appropriate solutions.'
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