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  Evacuation of underground stations with elevators in case of fire

  After putting the German law on Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities [1] into force, the barrier-free design is – among others – mandatory for public buildings. This means that even in emergency situations (e. g. evacuation during a fire) the interests of people with restricted mobility have to be taken into account. Also in underground stations it is becoming common practice to provide elevators more and more often to ensure barrier-free access to the various levels – especially in new stations. In addition, more and more existing stations are upgraded with elevators during retrofitting programs. This retrofitting of existing stations becomes also necessary due to the development of barrier-free public transport systems in general. By improved accessibility of stops on surface (e. g. without steps), it has become much easier for people with restricted mobility to use public transport systems. This implies that people with restricted mobility, who enter a tram barrier-free at ground level, may be trapped in an underground station in case of emergency. Instead of having a chance of evacuating themselves to the surface, they depend on third party rescue by volunteers or rescue services. This situation is also provoked by the standard procedures in emergency situations, in which elevators are put into a pre-set safety mode. In this mode the elevator will be stopped with opened doors at ground level so that people can egress. From this moment all elevators are out of service and rides are no longer possible.

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