Q&A for How to Survive Being Stuck in a Lift

First up, stay calm; nothing gets solved in a panic. Try to feel about in the lift, in the usual placement for the button panel. Even in the dark, you should be able to feel the buttons as they have a glass feel to them, the emergency button is usually plastic and sticks out and often has braille markings on it. (There's a picture of the average one in the Made Recently section above.) Keep pressing it and help should arrive at some point. If you have a fear of the dark, take deep breaths and repeat calming mantras to yourself; rescue is on its way.

If the building is active, the longest you'll probably be stuck for is about half an hour to an hour. Keep pressing the emergency button till help comes. However, if the building is closed, then you may have a longer wait (an hour or two, up to 8-9 hours at most), depending on where the emergency call goes to. Stay calm with deep breaths and reassure yourself that help is coming; rescuers don't dawdle when they know people are stuck in a lift.

The air in elevators is not sealed in. You can have any amount of oxygen you need.

If it's possible, contact your parents on the lift's phone, let them know what has happened. They will call someone to help. Press the emergency button for help; you may hear ringing or someone will answer and ask you what is wrong. Most of all, stay calm and keep reminding yourself that help is coming. If the wait is long, take a nap, imagine a story in your head or play an electronic game to pass the time.

You should try to dial on your cellphone for help, or press the help button in the elevator. At some point a janitor or someone else should come in the building, so do not give up hope.

If you don't have anything to drink, 3 days at the most, since the body will shut down due to dehydration.

Try to hold it for as long as you can. If someone has an empty bottle, ask if you can borrow it to pee in.

Most likely, no. If the flames didn't kill you, smoke inhalation would due to inadequate ventilation. The best thing to do would be to get as low to the ground as possible (smoke rises) and avoid the fire.

Most likely. To improve your chances of survival, you can lay down on the elevator floor with your limbs spread out.

Just close your eyes and imagine you are on a beach or at another soothing place. Try to think of things to be thankful for, such as your favorite dog.

Every lift has at least three fail safe systems. It has suspension cables as well as cables that raise and lover the lift. It often has clamps that jump out if it should fall too fast, much like the safety on your seat belt. No shaft is ever smooth, so you would hit a snag immediately and be stopped that way. Finally, it has a counterweight. So if everything else fails and you're in free fall, you would go up, not down. Besides, the lift-rescue-people are really good at lift-rescue-stuff. They know their lifts.

Yell for help, or just wait. Someone will figure out you're stuck in there and get you out, it's just a matter of time.

You may not have signal to call 911, or any other emergency service numbers, but you can try.

If you get hungry, try distracting yourself with something else.

Help the victim stay calm until help comes. If they need any kind of medication, let emergency services know as soon as possible. Other than that, just encourage them to breathe deeply and talk about something fun.

Try to remain calm and use the alarm or the emergency button. If that does not work, then try doing Step 7.

Bang as loudly as you can with a shoe or any object. Keep banging until you get help. Don't panic, though -- the fact that the elevator isn't working has likely alerted someone, and help will arrive soon.

Place one foot in front of the other and lunge down. Do not lock your knees. Lunge towards the floor a bit, and most importantly, stay calm.

Use the emergency phone in the elevator to call for help. You can also use the alarm.

The doors are locked shut, so you probably can't. Also, it's dangerous to climb into an elevator shaft. It's best to stay in the elevator, use the emergency phone, and wait for help to arrive.

You can use the emergency phone or the alarm bell in the elevator to call for help.

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do other than wait. Don't think about your bladder while you wait. Distract yourself with other thoughts.

Very rare, but it can still happen sometimes. Remember to not panic though.

There is. There will be an "elevator alarm button" where you can press on and speak to the dispatcher. If not, call 911.

You can't really do much except wait. Call emergency services if the situation gets bad. To avoid this situation, go to the bathroom beforehand.