On Saturday night I joined a friend and several others for a post-theatre drink in London SW3 (also known as Chelsea). One of our party suggested a drink chez lui afterwards. We headed off to his block of flats. He lived on the fifth floor. The lift was tiny - and when five passengers got on board before me and I said I would wait for the next lift, he reached out and pulled me on, saying we could all head up together. The doors shut, the lift traveled upwards ten seconds and suddenly stopped. At which point it immediately dawned on me: we are stuck. I craned my neck and saw the info on the lift, stating that a maximum of four passengers should be here at any one time. We were six. And none of us could now move. We used the phone to call the concierge at the front desk. He said he would have to phone the lift servicing company. Minutes went by. The lift became a sweat box with little air. I began to get seriously claustrophobic - and pried open the door to at least get some fresher oxygen into our cramped space. But we were still stuck between floors and it was impossible to prise open the exterior doors that would give us a means of escape. Ten minutes went by. None of us could move. I eventually called the emergency services - and had to convince them it was urgent that they send the firemen to get us out (as we were now told it would be forty minutes before the lift company woud be there). The line went dead twice. The emergency services called back on both occasions. And finally they agreed to send help, The firemen arrived five minutes later (I couldn’t get over how fast they were). The doors were prised open. They helped us deal with the four foot jump to freedom. Once we were all out I went around and shook hands with all four firemen, thanking each of them for rescuing us. No one should ever take the emergency services for granted. And that’s the last time I ever get pulled into an overcrowded lift. As my friend said to me afterwards: ‘At least you now have another great story to tell”. True - but trust me, six people caught in an airless tiny elevator for a half-hour with limited air is no joke.
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 11:02:39 +0000
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