Emergency Safety and Your Residential Elevator

Here are some ways to get your home elevator ready for an emergency situation.

In the DC, Maryland, and Virginia areas, there is the threat of major storms, especially hurricanes, which can bring damage and flooding to your home. But what does that mean when you have a residential elevator? Here are some ways to get your home elevator ready for an emergency situation.

Securing Your Elevator

For extreme weather emergencies, you might have to evacuate your home for your own safety. Although it is a scary situation to leave such a valuable piece of property as your residential elevator at the mercy of a storm, there are a couple of ways to secure it against damage. First, put your elevator car on the highest landing so that it will be away from possible flooding. Turn off the power sources to your elevator as well, to eliminate any danger of electrical malfunctions and fires.

Personal Safety

If you choose not to leave your home during a storm, then you should plan to make sure that you are safe around your home elevator. The absolute most important thing to remember is that you should avoid using your home elevator during any emergency event. You have probably seen signs in buildings that warn against using an elevator during a fire, and that is because it could malfunction and trap a person inside. This is even more of a danger in flooding situations since most residential elevators aren’t programmed to detect or avoid a flood in a hoistway. As you can imagine, it would be a grim and terrifying situation to be trapped in a flooded elevator.

Dealing with the Aftermath

Once the storm is over, you will need to assess the damage in your home. First, before you touch your elevator, you should contact the service company to inspect it. There’s no telling what type of damage could have happened to it which could create unsafe conditions. For example, if water got into the hoistway, then trying to power the elevator on could put you at risk of a dangerous electric shock. Instead, a professional will know how to check your elevator to see if it is safe to use as well as what repairs it might need.

Contact Signature Elevators Today!

Signature Elevators & Accessible Design, LLC works with leading manufacturers to provide you with the beautiful residential elevator that you need. Located in Rockville, MD, we have years of experience with incorporating elevators into multi-story homes and working with customers to ensure the elevator meets their specific needs. With styles from modern tubes to wood-paneled cabs, Signature Elevators has all the tools you need to build the perfect elevator for your home! Visit our website or contact us at (301)-251-1659 for more information. The manufacturers we represent are:

Pneumatic Vacuum Elevators https://www.vacuumelevators.com/

Stiltz Lifts https://www.stiltzlifts.com/

Waupaca Elevators https://www.waupacaelevator.com/

Cambridge Elevating http://www.cambridgeelevating.com/