On the 28th November 2018, Fire Check Consultants (FCC) had an opportunity to spend an evening with Professor Ed Galea, a world-renowned expert in the field of fire emergency evacuation strategies. Kudos to ‘Clevertronics’ for hosting such a wonderful event. FCC shared their experience in relation to lifts as an alternative evacuation facility in high rise buildings.
Generally, the use of lifts is not recommended for building occupants for evacuation purposes due to some of the major building fire incidents that have occurred in the past. FCC shared their opinion on the feasibility of using lifts along with design modifications as an alternative facility for a safer and more efficient emergency evacuation. Lifts with protected lobby for up to one-fourth of the building population and stairs for up to three-fourth of the building population can be provided for an improved evacuation strategy. One-fourth of the building population may even include aged and disabled occupants. The risks in combined evacuation systems (protected lifts and stairs) are lower when compared to using stairs or protected lifts alone.
The NCC 2016 Volume One prescribed performance requirement (DP7) for use of lifts as an alternative evacuation facility in buildings.
