British Columbia Basic Security Training Practice Exam

In most office towers and apartment buildings what would cause elevators to automatically go to the lobby?

1. An intrusion alarm

2. A fire alarm

3. Smoke

4. A terrorist attack

The correct answer is: A fire alarm

In most office towers and apartments, elevators are programmed to automatically return to the ground or lobby level when a fire alarm is activated. The primary reason for this is to prevent people from getting trapped in elevators during a fire incident. Elevators may not function properly during a fire due to potential power outages, damage to the electrical system or the spread of smoke into the shaft. Moreover, the use of elevators during fires is generally discouraged because it may hinder the efforts of firefighters who may need to use them as part of their response operations. Hence, when a fire alarm sounds, the elevator system reverts to a preset program designed to assist in evacuating the building, where they default to going to the lobby.