passenger lifts

From January 23, 2023 all firefighter and evacuation lifts in high rise residential buildings are now subject to an additional new monthly check. Lee Dean director of LECS UK looks at the implications and new responsibilities for owners/ managers of high-rise buildings
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry noted in the Phase 1 report that “When the firefighters attended the fire at Grenfell Tower, they were unable to operate the mechanism that should have allowed them to take control of the lifts.”
The Inquiry recommended that the owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to carry out regular inspections of any lifts that are designed to be used by firefighters and to report these results to the fire and rescue service at monthly intervals.  They are also required to undertake tests of the mechanism that allows firefighters to take control of the lifts and to inform the fire rescue service monthly that they have undertaken.

By Alastair Stannah, Managing Director, Stannah Lifts Distribution & Service
 
The digital switchover of telephone lines in the United Kingdom is happening now. By 2025, Openreach will have phased out all copper analogue telephone lines in favour of optical fibre networks. Many building managers may already be aware of the need to change phone lines in the building, but some may not have realised that their lifts will be affected by the Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) switch off.