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RESTRICTORS: WHAT
FIREFIGHTERS NEED TO KNOW
BY BILL GUSTIN
(1) Depressing the restrictor release duplicates the actions of the hostway door
release rollers, allowing the car doors to fully open. (Photos by Steve English.)
Click here to enlarge image
As a result of these accidents, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
which writes model codes and standards for the elevator industry, has
incorporated door restrictors since 1980. Additionally, the fear of liability for
elevator accidents has resulted in the installation of door restrictors on many
older elevators.
Door restrictors prevent the car doors of an elevator from opening more than
four inches when the elevator is not within its "landing zone," which is usually
18 inches above or below the floor landing. Door restrictors prevent surfers and
do-it-yourself escapees from forcing open the doors of an elevator car when it
is between floors. Restrictors can be re-leased on the outside of elevator car
doors or at the top of the elevator car. Firefighters not familiar with door
restrictors may cause unnecessary damage when they remove occupants of a
stalled elevator if they use hydraulic tools to defeat restriction devices.
There are two basic types of mechanical door restrictors: The clutch-type
restrictor consists of a latch located at the top of the car doors. On some
assemblies, the latch is re-leased, permitting the car doors to fully open when
the clutch or driving vane on the car doors lines up with the release rollers of
the shaftway door. When the elevator is within its landing zone, the hoistway
door release rollers depress a release mechanism located next to the driving
vane or clutch of the car door. The release mechanism is connected to the latch
at the top of the car doors by a reach rod, similar to the linkage between the
door release rollers and the interlock at the top of the hoistway doors. The key
to releasing this type of restrictor is to duplicate the pressure of the hoistway
door release rollers on the restrictor release located on the car door. When the
release mechanism is within reach, simply depress it and push open the car
doors. When an elevator is too far above or below a floor landing to reach the
release by hand, use a pike pole to depress the release or access the top of the
car from a landing above the elevator and directly release the latch at the top of
the car doors.
The second basic type of door restrictor, the angle iron restrictor (commonly
found on Otis elevators), consists of projections fastened to the car door and
hoistway similar to an angle iron. When an elevator equipped with this
restrictor is outside its landing zone, the car door restricting angle will strike the
angle iron on the shaftway doors and the shaft, preventing the car door from
opening more than four inches. The car door can only open completely when
the elevator car is within its landing zone, where the car door angle and
shaftway angles do not line up to strike each other. On older installations, the
angle-type door restrictor could not be manually released. Some Otis elevators,
however, have restrictors that are hinged and spring-loaded. Depressing the
angle on the car door will allow it to clear the angle iron fastened to the
hoistway and hoistway doors.
There are other door restriction devices on the market, including the
electromechanical type of restrictor (see sidebar by Glenn P. Corbett above).
Fire departments should consult with elevator mechanics in their area to
become familiar with the types of door restrictors that they may encounter.
Click here to enlarge image
Figure 1: View of the outside of center-opening elevator car doors. When the
elevator is within its landing zone, the hoistway door release roller contacts the
restrictor vane, actuating the release of the car door restrictor. Depressing the
restrictor vane by hand or a pike pole will also release the device. Figure 2: The
car door restrictor strikes opposing restrictor angles mounted in the hoistway
and the bottom of each hoistway door, preventing the car doors from opening
more than four inches when the car is 18 inches or more away from the landing.
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(4) 4-inch 2 4-inch cribbing fills the gap between the
door frame and the hydraulic forcible entry tool.
Click here to enlarge image
What tools are necessary to escape a stalled elevator? Certainly, a prying tool
such as a halligan or claw tool is essential. The tool must, however, have a
long, tapered fork with a pronounced bevel to work the tool around the edge of
the car door where it is recessed into its jamb as much as 11/2 inches. The pry
tool is used to gain an initial purchase on the car door and overcome any
resistance exerted by the car drive motor and its mechanism.
It should be obvious that some type of striking tool is needed, both to drive the
pry tool around the edge of the door and break open the top escape hatch of the
elevator car. Escaping through the top hatch of an elevator is definitely an
option, but it can be very difficult because the hatch is locked at the top of the
elevator with wing nuts or sliding latch bolts.
(5) Use a pike pole to reach and release the interlock of the hoistway doors on the landing above the
elevator. Note the floor landing at chest height.
Click here to enlarge image
Working with elevators, like all fire department operations, must be performed
in accordance with an ongoing risk vs. benefit analysis. Firefighters must
realize their limitation in terms of the knowledge and skills necessary to safely
rescue themselves or others from an elevator and know when it is better to wait
for an elevator mechanic. They must also realize how vulnerable an elevator
can be under fire conditions and recognize that taking an elevator to fight a fire
just isn't worth the risk.
Endnotes
1. For complete instructions on elevator rescue, see chapter 4 of Truck
Company Operations by John W. Mittendorf (Fire Engineering, 1998).
2. "Elevators were disaster within disaster," Dennis Cauchon and Martha T.
Moore, www.USAtoday.com, Sept. 4, 2002.
BILL GUSTIN, a 30-year veteran of the fire service, is a captain with Miami-
Dade (FL) Fire Rescue and lead instructor in his department's officer training
program. He began his fire service career in the Chicago area and teaches fire
training programs in Florida and other states. He is a marine firefighting
instructor and has taught fire tactics to ship crews and firefighters in Caribbean
countries. He also teaches forcible entry tactics to fire departments and SWAT
teams of local and federal law enforcement agencies. Gustin is an editorial
advisory board member of Fire Engineering.
Although elevators have been in existence for 150 years, the codes that regulate
their construction and maintenance still continue to be updated. Generally
speaking, it is your local building code that provides for overall regulation of
elevators. This includes mandating periodic inspections by building department
inspectors—one of the very few "maintenance" inspections that a building
inspections department performs.
Your local building code very likely also references and mandates the use of
ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Standard A17.1, Safety
Code for Elevators and Escalators. It is this standard that provides the detailed
requirements for elevator design and use, including the "phase one" recall of
elevators during a fire emergency as well as their use by firefighters under
"phase two" operation. This standard also incorporates the requirements
pertaining to the use of elevator door restrictors.
Door restrictors are installed for one primary reason—to keep people from
opening the door of a stalled elevator car and falling down the shaft below.
When a car is 18 inches above or below the floor landing, the door restrictor is
engaged, preventing the car door from being opened
ASME A17.1 first included provisions for door restrictors in 1980. The door
restrictors can be placed into two broad categories: mechanical and
electromechanical. Mechanical restrictors include both special devices mounted
on elevator cab doors and a set of "angle iron" door restrictors. These angle
irons mount on the hoistway (shaft) door and the elevator cab door. In some
cases, the angle iron on the car door is made to be collapsible, allowing for it to
be moved out of the way.
As a firefighter, you must preplan the types of door restrictors used in your
jurisdiction. Many manufacturers make these pieces of equipment, and you
must familiarize yourself with all of them. Ask elevator mechanics to show you
how the devices work and to help you develop your operational guidelines.