VFCA2017

Sessions Speakers Exhibitors Floor Plan Buzz

OSHA & Elevators: What Can Get You Into Trouble (Room 3B)

This lecture based program examines the challenges often overlooked by organizations that respond to elevator emergencies.  Due to the evolution of technology and building construction, we are seeing elevators almost everywhere, and more responders are responding to elevator emergencies and non-emergencies.  However, with this call volume increase or increased potential, there is still very little information on how to deal with these events. Firefighters are problem solvers and they will do whatever they can to solve a problem with the best of intentions. However, if improper actions are performed when dealing with elevators, the repercussions could be catastrophic for the individuals and their organizations. Due to these concerns, this program focuses on educating participants in managing elevator situations.  The focus of this class centers on how OSHA regulations describe elevator emergencies and how responders can set themselves up for success.  This program will review the implementation of Norfolk Fire Rescue’s elevator program while discussing the challenges surrounding its implementation.  Presenters will lead a discussion around multiple near misses and critical events that occurred in Norfolk when dealing with elevator emergencies and non-emergencies. These events will be broken down to better understand how they could have been prevented while allowing the attendees to strengthen their working knowledge on how to handle these types of events in the future.