F80 Elevator Emergency Operations — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Phase I Emergency Recall automatically sends all elevators to:
- The fire floor so firefighters can access it quickly
- The floor nearest to the fire to facilitate rapid occupant rescue
- The designated recall floor (typically the lobby or ground floor) (Correct answer)
- The roof to prevent smoke from being drawn into the shaft
Correct answer: The designated recall floor (typically the lobby or ground floor)
Phase I recall moves all elevators to the designated recall level — usually the lobby or ground floor — and keeps them there with doors open. This prevents civilians from inadvertently riding elevators to a fire floor and makes elevators available for firefighter use.
Question 2: Which event typically triggers an automatic Phase I elevator recall?
- Activation of any manual fire pull station in the building
- Activation of a smoke detector in an elevator lobby or machine room (Correct answer)
- A confirmed fire reported by a floor warden to the Fire Safety Director
- An occupant pressing the emergency button inside an elevator cab
Correct answer: Activation of a smoke detector in an elevator lobby or machine room
Phase I recall is automatically triggered by smoke detectors located in elevator lobbies, hoistways, or the elevator machine room. This protects occupants from elevator doors opening on a smoke-filled floor.
Question 3: Under Phase II firefighter service, the elevator can ONLY be operated by:
- The Fire Safety Director from the building command station
- A firefighter physically inside the elevator cab using the Phase II key switch (Correct answer)
- A building engineer from the machine room control panel
- Any authorized building staff using the Phase I key in the lobby
Correct answer: A firefighter physically inside the elevator cab using the Phase II key switch
Phase II places full control of the elevator inside the cab, operated by a firefighter using the special key switch. This allows firefighters to override normal controls, hold doors open, and travel directly to any floor — including the fire floor.
Question 4: During a fire in a high-rise building, occupants should be instructed to:
- Use elevators only if the stairwells are smoke-filled
- Avoid using elevators entirely and use enclosed stairwells for evacuation (Correct answer)
- Use service elevators, which are separated from the main elevator bank
- Use elevators on floors below the fire but not on floors above
Correct answer: Avoid using elevators entirely and use enclosed stairwells for evacuation
Elevators must NEVER be used by occupants during a fire. Elevator shafts can fill with smoke, power may fail trapping occupants, and Phase I recall may strand an elevator at an unexpected floor. Enclosed stairwells are the designated means of egress.
Question 5: A smoke detector activates on the 15th floor. The building has elevators that serve floors 1–20. What happens to an elevator that was traveling toward the 15th floor when Phase I recall activates?
- It stops at the 15th floor to allow passengers to exit before recalling
- It bypasses the 15th floor and proceeds directly to the recall floor without stopping (Correct answer)
- It stops at the nearest floor below the fire floor so occupants can exit safely
- It reverses direction immediately and returns to the floor it came from
Correct answer: It bypasses the 15th floor and proceeds directly to the recall floor without stopping
When Phase I activates and a detector on a specific floor has triggered the recall, elevators are programmed to bypass that floor entirely and travel non-stop to the recall level. This prevents doors from opening on the potentially smoke-filled fire floor.
Question 6: The Phase I key switch in the elevator lobby allows building personnel to:
- Manually initiate or cancel the Phase I recall of all elevators (Correct answer)
- Operate a specific elevator in firefighter service mode from the lobby
- Override the elevator's weight capacity restrictions during an emergency
- Communicate directly with occupants trapped inside an elevator cab
Correct answer: Manually initiate or cancel the Phase I recall of all elevators
The lobby Phase I key switch gives authorized personnel (such as the Fire Safety Director) the ability to manually initiate a recall if the automatic system has not yet activated, or to return elevators to normal service once the emergency has been resolved and FDNY authorizes it.
F80 Elevator Emergency Operations
Phase I Emergency Recall automatically sends all elevators to: