How to Survive in a Trapped Elevator

Many of us work in a building that has an elevator and we use it nearly every day. The thought of getting trapped in an elevator has crossed all of our minds at some point. It is important to know what to do to survive in a trapped elevator, because it could happen to anyone at anytime. If there is a power outage the elevator could stop working and leave you trapped inside. If there is a malfunction with the elevator it could leave you trapped. Knowing what to do to survive in a trapped elevator can help you to stay calm and help others, too.

Instructions

• 1

  Stay calm. Take a moment to calm yourself if you have to. Know that there are very few reports of people actually dying in a trapped elevator, and that nearly all of the time you will escape with your life--probably without even a scratch. If you are too panicked you could cloud your judgment and logic is then thrown out the window. Stay calm to survive. The most likely scenario is that you will just have to wait it out until the elevator begins working again.

• 2

  When the elevator stops when it is not supposed to you need to press another floor button to see if it will simply go. If not, try the open door button. If there is no response from the elevator it is time to call for help.

• 3

  Use the elevator's emergency telephone to call for help. The phone will help you get in touch with emergency technicians that will come out to help you. If for some reason this phone does not work use your cell phone--or someone else's. Call emergency services. If this does not work get the attention of people outside of the elevator by banging on the door and yelling that you are trapped inside.

• 4

  Understand that even though you have used all of the above steps to contact those outside including emergency services and technicians, you will have to wait for help. You will be trapped in the elevator for a little while, at least. You'll probably get bored and lonely, especially of you are alone. You can deal with this by writing, reading, singing, playing cell phone games and anything else you can do to keep calm until help arrives.