5 Top Tips for an Evacuation Lift Installation

evacuation lift

Evacuation Lifts

Evacuation lifts should be advised to be required as part of the Fire Assessment conducted on the design of the building or existing building assessment. An Evacuation Lift will be a recommendation as part of the building management evacuation plan.

5 top tips for an evacuation lift project. 

  • Why Does My Building Require an Evacuation Lift?
  • Get Advice at the right time
  • Any Other Lift Building Standard Requirements
  • Which floors are required for evacuation?
  • Preparation Work for Evacuation Lift

 

  1. Why the building requires an Evacuation Lift

All multi-occupancies or public buildings would have a fire strategy assessment in line with BS 9999.

Evacuation lifts are so occupants with low mobility can be evacuated safely and efficiently in a dignified manner from the building in the event of an emergency.

If developing new multi-occupancy or public building within the London and soon to be Manchester area, we recommend the guidance of the New London Plan. D5 Policy more information on this is available on our website here.

  1. Get advice at the right time

Avoid delays and challenges that can be avoided. During your fire assessment seek a lift consultant or expert. Collaborate and ensure the correct specification of the lift and its integration into the building design runs smoothly. The past projects we have corrected have caused building delays and additional expenses that could have been avoided.

  1. Any Other Lift Building Standard Requirements

Any additional standards and requirements are a good idea to consider at the start.

If the lift is traveling more than 18 meters from the ground floor or access floor, then you would require a Firefighter Lift.

You also have options such as Anti-vandal which are also worth considering.

It may be a lot more time-consuming and expensive to incorporate these standards once the lift has been manufactured or installed. You could face not achieving building control approval (Practical Completion) if later you discover you require these additional standards.

  1. Which floors are required for evacuation?

Establishing which floors are required for evacuation, is very important this can have a dramatic effect on your building design, with items such as safe refuse areas which also must be fire protected and located next to the lift landing entrance.

Additionally, all landing floors that operate as an evacuation floor would require communication systems next to the landing entrance of the lift in the safe refuge area.

  1. Preparation Work for Evacuation Lift Installation

In addition to preparation work required for a regular passenger lift, with the extra specification requirements of an Evacuation Lift additional features are required to be considered.

Such as:

  • Communication systems on all Evacuation floors
  • Consider where the secondary power source will be located
  • The secondary power source needs to be in a different part of the building to the main supply and be fire protected.

Being aware of these basic points will ensure you have a successful installation and avoid delays or unnecessary expenses.

iKONIC Lifts Can Help As Your Complete Lift Partner

If you have any further questions or require assistance regarding an evacuation lift, please don’t hesitate to contact our team, or simply make a no-obligation online enquiry. We can provide onsite surveys and free quotations

iKONIC Lift utilise open protocol systems on all our lifts, and our quotations have no hidden costs. We can act as your complete lift partner in all types of lifts, and we provide consultation, lift design, supply, and installation.

iKONIC Lifts Services are available from our service department, however, we do not tie our clients into service contracts and due to the nature of our service, we often find clients returning or renewing with us.

Firefighter Vs Evacuation Lifts

Discover the important diffrences between the two lift types

New London Plan

Evacuation Lift Guidance Policy D5 (B5)

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