I got stuck in a broken lift today. Has anyone else been stuck in a lift?

[Redheadedstepchild]

I'm alright, obviously, I'm here now but here's what happened:

I live in a block of flats which has three storeys and an underground garage space. My flat is on the second floor. I got in and pressed zero. Ground floor.

The lift went down really quickly, then came back up again a bit and the doors wouldn't open although the digital display was showing level 1 but like this <1> Or could have been like this >1<

Which I took to mean stuck but mainly at level 1. Or in between floors.

Then it just stayed there.

I pressed a few more buttons in panic then it went very quickly again into the basement garage with a bit of a bump and eventually the doors opened and I managed to find the stairs up to the ground floor in the dark (I don't know the layout of the garage or where the light switches are because I don't have a car.)

I don't know whether my button pressing had anything to do with it hurtling into the basement or not.

What happened?

This doesn't sound too bad now I've written it down but I think that it's one of those experiences that seems to last a lot longer than it actually does.

That lift really did go down fast though.

I've phoned and left messages with the lift company and the copropriété.

I feel a bit wobbly. Still, I'm sure some of you will have survived worse.

The lift in my building is small . The prospect of getting stuck makes me feel ill as I'm claustrophobic. Touch wood.

🤣🤣. He's a tad lacking isn't he 🤣🤣

No I haven't been stuck in a proper lift, thank fuck, you'd have heard the screaming in Japan. I don't do 'locked in' anywhere! Even if a toilet door is C being a bit tricky I panic!! I know it's ridiculous because other users/staff will come in etc, but it doesn't stop me panicking. My absolute TERRIR when Civud started was seeing the people in China with their doors being barricaded. My (irrational) fear was it happening here. I coukd cope with the lockdowns as long as I coukd iOS. My front door.

It's over now & you're ok. Have wine or a cuppa &a biscuit, be kind to yourself, it's quite an ordeal!! Don't down play it.

have you heard back from them yet?

I have - in a department store with my baby - think he was about 1. I tried ringing the lift alarm but no one answered for a while - was then trying to call for help without shouting as that scared the baby! So I kept singing “helloooo” in a jolly voice and singing wheels on the bus loudly! Eventually someone answered the call button and called the fire brigade! They came and prised the doors open. We were only about a foot short of the floor level so once doors were open they jumped in and lifted the pram up and I followed. We were then on the 3rd floor and had to use the escalator to leave as I wasn’t going to risk the other lift.

I got stuck in one once when I was a kid. I had to wait for a couple of hours for the engineers to come and let me out. Of course I was somewhere I shouldn't have been.

My parents are still none the wiser. We didn't have a phone back then.

Yep at 35 weeks pregnant.
Work lift- very old but I could barely waddle let alone use stairs. intercom was broken.

Luckily I had my phone. Called a colleague. Property team managed to override the lift to get it to the correct floor then about 6 people prised the door open.

I did my best to stay calm- my manager was scared I’d end up in early labour 😅

Around 15 minutes of being stuck. Scary at the time but funny to talk about after.

I was stuck in a lift in an old monastery in Italy for quite a while in the scorching heat. My main worry was suffocating or heat stroke. But I survived!

Yes the fire brigade had to come their was me and another woman with her baby i spent the whole time playing peek a boo

I’m a bit claustrophobic to say the least, so always try to take the stairs if I can. 😂

Sorry keep forgetting to check the voice to message posts!! It's handy since the stroke, or would be if it behaved.

when I was at uni I got in at the basement floor 0 and was going up to the main entrance floor 5. It got to 5 and then instead of the doors opening it dropped all the way back down to 0. God my stomach flipped, I’m very hesitant about going in lifts especially older looking ones or small ones

I once worked in a building with dodgy lifts and got trapped a few times a month. It was a nice opportunity for a break. Best one was when the man in the loft with me was bringing his lunch back from Macdonalds and he shared it with us.

Been stuck in a lift in a multi storey car park once , but was with Dh and ds2! We pressed the help button and the man said he was based miles away , but not to panic. Eventually it started up again! I had visions of having to call 999 for help , but I think it was just a glitch. It does make you panic though.
I’ve been stuck in a public toilet once , that was awful but the lock did turn after a lot of tugging at it.
I dread public toilets that are out the way , but I guess having a phone on you these days means you can get some help if you get stuck in them. I tend to just go all hot and imagine being there forever. It is hard to stay calm.

I go stuck in a lift at the council where I worked. They were moving offices around, so the inside of the lift had been temporarily clad in wood as they were shifting furniture and presumably didn't want to cause damage.

I managed to call reception from inside the lift, (before mobiles were common) and they had to get someone over from County Hall, round the corner, to fix it. It was a hot day, I felt as though I was trapped in a coffin. Some colleagues managed to prise the doors open, it was stuck between 2 floors and hand me down a cup of water. They were so lovely and talked to me throughout. I can't remember how long I was there perhaps half an hour or longer.

I have a great fear of heights but luckily I was between, I think floors 2 and 3. I always preferred using the lift as the stairwell had huge windows and I hated looking out and seeing how high up I was.

Yes, 18 months ago and 2 years ago! The best bit was being rescued by the fireman 😂

My dog and I got stuck in a lift 2 years ago when the uk was experiencing the hottest temperatures on record (40 degrees if i remember correctly). I live in a three storey building and my apartment is on the top floor. I pressed G for the ground floor but nothing happened, pressed again and it went down, but then back to the top floor on it's own...and stayed there. Door wouldn't open. Omg..I know it sounds a bit over the top, but I honestly thought I was going to die. Pressed the call button to the lift engineer who arrived after about 45 minutes. Dog just curled up and went to sleep. Bloody awful experience 😞

Me!! I used to live in a high rise and got stuck with a baby 5 floors up.

Thank fuck I was breastfeeding because we were in there for hours. Not a priority apparently. When we were rescued dd had a stinky poo in her nappy which stunk out the lift .

I got stuck in the stock lift at work with another colleague, on a shift where I was the duty manager...had to phone shop floor from my mobile, tell the remaining staff member on shopfloor to shut the shop then direct her to where she'd find the number to phone maintenance and tell them what had happened! It was a perfect lesson of why it was meant to only be a stock lift, not for staff to use when we were feeling lazy and didn't want to take the stairs 😬

It's not over the top at all. Sometimes your mobile won't work inside lifts for some reason to ask for backup. Longest 45 minutes of your life.

No offence, but I am never getting in a lift with you!

Years ago when DS was a toddler and I was pregnant. There was, at the time, a supermarket in the town centre and the multi storey car park was several floors up. I did the shopping, got in the lift with the two year old and a trolley full. The doors closed and nothing happened. I pushed buttons and tried to stay calm for DS.

Eventually, it jerked and set off. I have never been so glad to see a car park! I don’t go in lifts at all now.

Not me but two colleagues. Our office was fourth floor in a very old building which had a very old tiny lift like you see in Parisian apartments. It got stuck between floors and the fire brigade came to prise them out. Never got in it again.

I saw something where they talked about how often the London Fire brigade is called out to rescue people from lifts. I think it is about 20 times a day.

I was stuck in one at work. It stopped between floors and the doors were stuck. It was later on the day and most people had gone home. I couldn't get a signal and the help button didn't seem to do anything!! It was really scary for a while. Eventually I did manage to get a text to go through to my friend, who brought security to rescue me. Argh!

Yep - for about 20 minutes - middle of the night in Parliament of all places. Fortunately, on that occasion, the alarm was working and we were rescued - much bemusement all around.. Colleague a couple of years earlier, wasn't so lucky as she was shut in for about 4 hours as the alarm wasn't working and she'd forgotten her phone.

Yes, many years ago with a load of commuters in a tube station lift. Very hot and claustrophic. Fortunately rescued after about half an hour. I still always avoid lifts whenever possible.