Lesson 3 of 3Lift types and sizes
Firefighting and evacuation lifts.
Most lifts should not be used in a fire. Firefighting and evacuation lifts are the exceptions: built and protected to keep running, under the control of firefighters or the building’s management. Here is how they work, when a building needs one and what the law asks of the people who manage them.
Lifts in a fire.
In a fire, the usual advice is to use the stairs. An ordinary lift could stop with people inside or carry them into smoke, so most lifts are designed to stop being used when a fire is detected.
The law
“Generally, lifts should not be used when there is a fire in the building, unless their use forms part of a management plan for evacuating people and the following conditions are met. a. Lifts are appropriately sited and protected. b. Lifts contain safety features to ensure they remain usable during a fire.”
That leaves three kinds of lift, each with its own standard for new installations.
| Kind of lift | Who uses it in a fire | Standard for new lifts | What it does in a fire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firefighting lift | Firefighters, once they take control of it with a key switch | BS EN 81-72 | Keeps working, so that firefighters can reach the floors they need with their equipment |
| Evacuation lift | The building’s management, following the evacuation plan | BS 9999 Annex G and, since 2025, BS EN 81-76 | Keeps working, so that people who cannot use the stairs can be evacuated |
| Other passenger lifts | Nobody | BS EN 81-73 | Returns to the main exit floor and shuts down, so passengers can get out and firefighters can check nobody is trapped. This is called fire recall. |
Older lifts may have none of these features, or earlier versions of them. The section on older lifts explains what you may find.
The names vary. Approved Document B, the building regulations guidance in England, says firefighting lift. BS EN 81-72, the current standard for new ones, says firefighters lift. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 speak of a “lift for use by firefighters”, which also covers older lifts with a switch for the fire service. This lesson says firefighting lift for all of them, except where the difference matters.
Our health and safety page sets out the standards we work to, including BS EN 81-73.
When a building needs a firefighting lift.
In England, the guidance is in Approved Document B. It has one volume for dwellings, including blocks of flats, and one for other buildings, and both set the same tests for firefighting shafts. Heights and depths are measured from the fire and rescue service vehicle access level, where fire engines reach the building.
- Tall buildings: a building with a storey more than 18 m above the fire and rescue service vehicle access level should have one or more firefighting shafts containing a firefighting lift.
- Deep basements: where a basement is more than 10 m below that level, the firefighting shafts should contain firefighting lifts.
- Large basements: a building with two or more basement storeys of at least 900 m² each needs firefighting shafts, but they do not need firefighting lifts.
- Large floors: a building with a storey of 900 m² or more, at a floor level 18 m or more up, should have at least two firefighting shafts.
Some shops, assembly buildings and industrial buildings need firefighting shafts without lifts at lower heights. Plant rooms on the top storey do not count towards a building’s height, and a firefighting shaft serves every storey it passes through.
Describe this diagram
A section through a building with storeys above the ground and basements below it. Heights are measured from the fire service vehicle access level. A building with a storey more than 18 metres above that level, or a basement more than 10 metres below it, should have a firefighting shaft with a firefighting lift. Here the shaft runs through every storey. A plant room on the roof does not count towards the height.
The shafts also have to be close enough to every part of the building. On storeys more than 18 m up, every part should be within 60 m of a fire main outlet in a firefighting shaft, measured along a route suitable for laying a hose. Where there are no sprinklers, every part should also be within 45 m of a fire main outlet in a protected stair.
Approved Document B is guidance. Designers can meet the building regulations in other ways, as long as the building is at least as safe. When the work is finished, regulation 38 of the Building Regulations requires the people who did it to give fire safety information to the building’s responsible person. If you take on a building, ask for it: it should help you understand what its fire safety systems, including its lifts, are designed to do.
These are the rules in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own building regulations and guidance.
Inside a firefighting shaft.
A firefighting lift never stands on its own. Approved Document B combines it with a firefighting stair and firefighting lobbies in a protected enclosure called a firefighting shaft. The shaft protects firefighters as they move up and down the building, and gives them water for their hoses on every floor.
Each number on the plan matches a part in the list. Select a number or a part to see what it does.
Firefighting shaft
The protected enclosure around the stair, the lobby and the lift. In Approved Document B’s diagram for buildings other than dwellings, its outer walls resist fire for at least 120 minutes from the floor side and 60 minutes from inside, and the walls between its parts for at least 60 minutes. Only the shaft’s own services, such as its lighting and ventilation, should pass through it.
Firefighting lift
A lift with extra protection, controls and signals, so that firefighters can take themselves and their equipment to the floors they need. They take control of it with a firefighters lift switch. Approved Document B says the whole installation, including the car, the lift shaft, the machinery space, the control system and the communications system, should conform to BS EN 81-72 and BS EN 81-20.
Firefighting stair
A protected stair that connects to the rest of the floor only through a firefighting lobby. It gives firefighters a protected stair as well as the lift, and like the rest of the shaft, it serves every storey the shaft passes through.
Firefighting lobby
A protected lobby that separates the stair and the lift from the rest of the floor. Approved Document B says every firefighting stair and firefighting lift should be approached from the accommodation through a firefighting lobby. In blocks of flats, a protected corridor or lobby can do the same job, and the lift’s landing doors should be no more than 7.5 m from the door to the firefighting stair.
Fire doors
Self-closing fire doors separate the lobby from the rest of the floor and from the stair. In Approved Document B’s diagram, the doors into the shaft are rated for 60 minutes and the doors inside it for 30 minutes. They only protect the shaft when they are closed, so never wedge them open.
Fire main outlet
A fire main is a water pipe for the fire and rescue service, with an outlet and valve on every storey where firefighters connect their hoses. Approved Document B puts the outlets in the protected stair or lobby. A building with a storey more than 50 m up needs a wet main, kept full of water. Lower buildings can have a dry main instead, which is kept empty and filled from a fire engine.
Smoke ventilation
Both the stair and the lobby need a means of venting smoke and heat. This plan shows a smoke shaft with a vent from the lobby. Other options include vents in an outside wall and mechanical systems, such as pressurisation, that keep smoke out of the stair and lobby.
Approved Document B says its own diagram only illustrates the basic components and is not the only acceptable layout. The shaft itself should be built generally in accordance with Section 6 of BS 9999.
What makes a firefighters lift different.
BS EN 81-72 is the current standard for new firefighters lifts. It adds to BS EN 81-20, the main standard for new passenger lifts, for lifts that can be used for firefighting and evacuation under firefighters’ control.
Most of the time, a firefighters lift works as a normal passenger lift. When firefighters arrive, they take control of it with a key switch marked with the firefighters pictogram. Cundall’s guide to the standard says its use for moving refuse or goods should be restricted, so that nothing blocks the entrance when firefighters need it.
Summaries of the standard by Cundall, a building services consultancy, and KONE, a lift manufacturer, list requirements such as these:
- Car size: a rated load of at least 630 kg, a car at least 1100 mm wide and 1400 mm deep, and a door opening at least 800 mm wide. Where the lift is also used for evacuation, the car should be at least 1100 mm by 2100 mm, for 1000 kg, so that it takes a stretcher or a bed.
- Speed: the lift should reach the highest floor it serves from the fire service access level within 60 seconds, for travels up to 200 m.
- Water: electrical equipment in the lift shaft and on the car is protected against water, such as from firefighting hoses.
- Rescue: a trap door in the car roof and ladders let trapped firefighters escape from the car.
- Power: a secondary power supply in a fire-protected area, with fire-protected cables, so that the lift can keep running if the normal supply fails.
- Communications: a fire service communication system, which Approved Document B counts as part of the firefighting lift installation.
Cundall’s guide describes the 2015 edition of the standard, and KONE’s sheet dates from 2016. The current edition is BS EN 81-72:2020, so check the details against it for any project.
What the building has to provide
A firefighters lift only works as part of a protected building. BSI’s summary of BS EN 81-72 says it applies when conditions such as these are met:
- The lift shaft and its surroundings are designed to restrict fire, heat and smoke getting in.
- The building design limits the flow of water into the lift shaft.
- The lift shaft and its surroundings are fire protected to at least the same level as the building structure.
- The power supply is secure and reliable, and the lift’s power cables have the same fire protection as the lift shaft.
- A suitable maintenance and verification plan is in place.
The standard does not say how many firefighters lifts a building needs or which floors they serve. In England, that comes from Approved Document B and the building’s fire safety design.
Water is a particular risk, because firefighting hoses deliver a lot of it at high pressure. Cundall’s guide describes measures such as drainage channels or a raised floor in front of each landing entrance, and drains or pumps that stop water building up in the pit. Any pumps go outside the lift shaft, on a secondary power supply. Our lesson on water in a lift pit explains why a pit must stay dry.
Evacuation lifts.
An evacuation lift lets people who cannot use the stairs, including many disabled people, leave the building in a fire. Unlike a firefighters lift, it is not controlled by the fire and rescue service. LEIA, the lift industry’s trade association, describes it as a lift taken under the control of building management and used to evacuate disabled people.
Approved Document B allows lifts to be used in a fire only as part of a management plan for evacuating people, and only if they are sited and protected for it and have safety features that keep them usable. It points to Annex G of BS 9999 for the design and use of evacuation lifts. In 2021, LEIA described Annex G as the only description of an evacuation lift in British Standards. Since July 2025, BS EN 81-76 has set requirements for new lifts designed to support faster evacuation of disabled people. It does not apply to evacuation lifts made before it was published.
A firefighting lift can do this job too. Approved Document B says that, where one is provided, “it can be used to evacuate disabled people”, and that management plans “should describe how this would be managed, and what will happen when the fire and rescue service arrives”.
Refuges and communication
People who are waiting for an evacuation lift, or for help on the stairs, wait in a refuge: a protected space, such as a protected lobby, with direct access to the stair. In buildings other than dwellings, Approved Document B expects:
- Each refuge should be at least 900 mm by 1400 mm and accessible to a wheelchair user, without narrowing the escape route.
- Refuges should have an emergency voice communication system to BS 5839-9, so that people waiting there can talk to a master station in the control room or next to the fire alarm panel.
- Refuges and evacuation lifts should be clearly identified, with a blue ‘Refuge – keep clear’ sign in protected lobbies and stairways.
Evacuation lifts in blocks of flats
Since 30 September 2026, Approved Document B’s volume for dwellings has also set out how evacuation lifts in blocks of flats should be protected. Where evacuation lifts are provided, they should be in an evacuation shaft with a protected stairway, the evacuation lift and an evacuation lift lobby. The lobby is a refuge for people waiting for the lift, with direct access to the stair, and nobody should be able to reach it directly from a flat, a storage room or an electrical equipment room.
Evacuation shafts should have the same protection as the stair, and any smoke control system that protects the stair should protect the evacuation lift and its lobby too. Some projects submitted to building control before that date can still follow the earlier guidance, under transitional arrangements.
Safety first
If there is a fire, use the stairs unless the building’s evacuation plan says otherwise. Only use a lift when the plan provides for it and building staff or the fire and rescue service direct you to it.
Older lifts and fire service switches.
The standards for lifts used by firefighters have changed several times, and many buildings still have older lifts. LEIA describes four kinds of lift for fire service use that you may find:
| Kind of lift | Standards | How it is marked | What it gives firefighters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firemen’s lift | BS 2655-1 or BS 5655-1 | A “Fire Control” or “Fire service” switch | Only a simple way to recall the lift to a set floor, with no protection measures for firefighters |
| Fire-fighting lift | BS 5588-5, first published in 1986 | A “Firefighting lift” switch | Protection, controls and signals for firefighters’ exclusive use, but less stringent than a firefighters lift |
| Firefighters lift | BS EN 81-72, first published in 2003, and BS 5588-5:2004 | A switch marked with the firefighters pictogram | Protection, controls and signals for firefighters’ exclusive use, to the current standard |
| Modernised lift for fire service use | BS 8899 | An identification label set out in BS 8899 | At least the basic protection, controls and signals for firefighters, added to a passenger lift |
Telling these apart is specialist work. LEIA says identifying the type of lift, and checking its features and operation, should be done only by competent lift personnel. The building’s side, such as the protected lobbies, has to be checked by the responsible person. Both feed into the building’s fire risk assessment.
Other lifts are not meant to be used in a fire at all. Building fire safety codes such as BS 9991 and BS 9999 recommend that these lifts are recalled and taken out of service by a fire alarm signal or a recall switch, to BS EN 81-73. Some older lifts have none of these features.
Upgrading an older lift
When an existing lift for fire service use is modernised, LEIA’s guidance prefers an upgrade to the level of a firefighters lift under BS EN 81-72. Where that is not practicable, BS 8899 sets out acceptable deviations for existing lifts. LEIA says it is not appropriate to upgrade a lift to the older fire-fighting lift standard. Our lift modernisation page explains how we approach upgrades.
Monthly checks in high-rise residential buildings.
In England, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 added duties for lifts in high-rise residential buildings from 23 January 2023. They follow the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, whose Phase 1 report noted that firefighters at Grenfell Tower “were unable to operate the mechanism that should have allowed them to take control of the lifts”.
The law
“The responsible person in relation to a high-rise residential building must undertake monthly routine checks of lifts for use by firefighters, evacuation lifts and essential fire-fighting equipment within the building.”
A high-rise residential building contains two or more sets of domestic premises and is at least 18 m above ground level or has at least seven storeys. A lift for use by firefighters is any lift in a firefighting shaft, and any passenger lift with a switch that lets the fire and rescue service take control of it. The Home Office says this includes older firemen’s lifts.
The responsible person must:
- Carry out a routine check every month that each of these lifts is in efficient working order and in good repair, following the relevant industry standard or the manufacturer’s recommendations in the operators’ manual.
- Take steps to fix any fault they find.
- Report any fault that cannot be fixed within 24 hours to the local fire and rescue authority by electronic means, as soon as reasonably practicable, and report again once it has been fixed.
- Keep a record of the monthly checks and make it accessible to residents, for example on a notice board.
- Show every lift on the floor plans kept in the building’s secure information box, marking any lift for use by firefighters and any evacuation lift.
Who does the checks
LEIA says the monthly checks are meant to be done by the responsible person and do not need specialist lift personnel. The responsible person keeps the duty even if they delegate the checks, and LEIA says the checks are very unlikely to be covered by a lift maintenance agreement. Ask your maintenance provider what your contract includes.
LEIA recommends that the check of each lift includes these steps:
Read the owner’s manual
The manual from the lift’s installer explains how the lift should work in a fire and any other checks the manufacturer recommends. Follow it, and any advice from your maintenance provider.
Operate the switch
Use the key to operate the firefighters or evacuation lift switch.
Check the lift returns
Check that the car returns to the exit floor or the fire service access level.
Check the control mode
Check that the lift is then in firefighters or evacuation control.
Record and report
Record the result. Report any fault to your lift maintenance provider and, if it cannot be fixed within 24 hours, to the fire and rescue authority.
The Home Office fact sheet adds that, once a fault is found, the responsible person should consider putting signs on or by the lift, however soon it is expected to be fixed, and consider whether the fire risk assessment needs updating. It also says every lift, including any secondary or back-up power supply, should already have a suitable programme of maintenance and inspection.
LEIA notes that lift landing doors are not fire doors for the purposes of regulation 10, which covers checks of fire doors. They usually open onto lobbies that are protected by fire doors, and those are covered.
Our lesson on fire safety duties for lifts covers the wider duties that fire safety law places on building owners.
Safety first
The monthly check is not maintenance. Never open landing doors with a release key, enter the lift shaft or try to fix a fault yourself: report it to your maintenance provider. In a real fire, leave the lift controls to the fire and rescue service and the people running the evacuation plan.
Check your understanding.
Three quick questions on this lesson. Choose an answer to check it, or open the answer below each question.
-
Approved Document B expects a firefighting lift in a building with a storey more than how far above the fire service vehicle access level?
Show the answer
B. 18 m. A building with a storey more than 18 m above the fire and rescue service vehicle access level should have one or more firefighting shafts containing a firefighting lift. A basement more than 10 m deep needs one too.
-
Who controls an evacuation lift during a fire?
Show the answer
B. The building’s management, following its evacuation plan. An evacuation lift is used under the control of the building’s management, as part of its plan for evacuating people who cannot use the stairs. Nobody should use a lift to escape a fire on their own.
-
In a high-rise residential building, what must the responsible person do if a fault on a firefighting lift cannot be fixed within 24 hours?
Show the answer
B. Report it to the local fire and rescue authority by electronic means. Under the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, the fault must be reported electronically to the local fire and rescue authority as soon as reasonably practicable, and reported again once it has been fixed.
Sources.
The primary sources for this lesson. We checked them when the lesson was last updated on 18 October 2026. How we research and check our lessons.
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Not sure what your lifts do in a fire?
Talk to an engineer. We can survey your lifts, tell you which fire features they have and help you plan maintenance and upgrades.
Common questions.
Quick answers to common questions about this topic.
What is a firefighting lift?
A lift with extra protection, controls and signals that let firefighters use it when fighting a fire, to take themselves and their equipment to the floors they need. It sits in a protected firefighting shaft with a stair and lobbies. New ones are built to BS EN 81-72, which calls them firefighters lifts. At other times, it can work as a normal passenger lift.
When does a building need a firefighting lift?
In England, Approved Document B expects one in any building with a storey more than 18 m above the fire and rescue service vehicle access level, or a basement more than 10 m below it. Buildings with large floors may need two or more. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own building rules.
What is the difference between a firefighting lift and an evacuation lift?
A firefighting lift is for the fire and rescue service, which takes control of it with a key switch. An evacuation lift is used by the building’s management, as part of its plan for evacuating people who cannot use the stairs. Approved Document B says a firefighting lift can also be used to evacuate disabled people, if the management plan describes how, including what happens when the fire and rescue service arrives.
Can you use a lift in a fire?
Not normally. Approved Document B says lifts should generally not be used in a fire unless their use is part of a management plan for evacuating people, and the lifts are protected and designed to keep working. Use the stairs unless the building’s evacuation plan provides otherwise and staff or the fire and rescue service direct you to a lift.
How often must firefighting lifts be checked?
In high-rise residential buildings in England, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 require the responsible person to check lifts for use by firefighters and evacuation lifts every month, keep a record that residents can see and report any fault not fixed within 24 hours to the local fire and rescue authority. These checks add to a suitable programme of maintenance and inspection, which every lift should already have.