Training Tool Helps Responders Unlock Elevator Doors

A new training tool is helping firefighters and other emergency responders in Washington, D.C., quickly unlock elevator doors to rescue entrapped passengers, DC News Now reports. Recently ordered by District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department-Engine Company 2, the tool consists of a clear piece of plexiglass that replicates an elevator door — complete with the gears and mechanisms found in actual elevator doors. A fire rescue technician interviewed by the source said when responders reach a hoistway door, they are typically “sticking the key in blindly,” hoping they will make the right twists to open it. The clear training tool, he said, allows responders to learn the layout of the elevator door before problems arise. “It’s not really a guessing game anymore,” the rescue technician said. The observed local firefighters and emergency crews report and average of up to eight elevator entrapment calls per day.