Have You Ever Been Stuck in an Elevator?
By tinym8
@tinym8 (420)
United States
July 10, 2010 7:55pm CST
I was stuck in an elevator once in a hospital for over 1/2 an hour! I was visiting my son who had surgery when he was a very tiny infant. It wasn't that scary because I was in an elevator filled with maintenance men from the hospital! It was just them and me. There were about 8 or 9 of us all together. If I had been alone, I would have been petrified. To top it off, when we finally got out of the elevator in the lobby the lobby was filled with firemen. There had been what turned out to be a small fire in a waste basket on one of the floors above.
I know being stuck in a small space is very scary for some people. If you were stuck in one what happened and how long were you there?
2 people like this
21 responses
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
11 Jul 10
Oh my goodness this brings memories, I was stuck once and the small space was not the problem. It became a problem when a few people began to panic then it got me to begin to worry.
There was a women in the stuck elevator with us and the woman began to scream for her child. We were in there for 20 minutes which felt like hours. Finally the elevator opened but it was between floors.
It was at this time I freaked thinking like the movies that the elevator would drop to a never ending fall. Finally the fire department opened the elevator and dropped a ladder down where we had to climb upwards between the floors to be rescued.
Oh gosh I have goose bumps remembering this.
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
12 Jul 10
Yes it was very traumatic to the point that I remember it every time I get on an elevator.
@tinym8 (420)
• United States
11 Jul 10
Lucky that it was for only a few minutes. A power failure could have gone on for hours!
Around here we get power failures often when we have storms. The outages can go from 15 minutes or so to almost all day. Since we've been here we haven't had one last more than 3/4 of a day or so, thank goodness.
1 person likes this
@tinym8 (420)
• United States
12 Jul 10
Hi Yuusha,
As I said in one other response, I think that if an adult with a child stays calm the child won't stay very upset. If it did happen with you, your mom probably did not freak or scream so you don't have a clear memory of it. If she had been very upset by it, you surely would remember it quite clearly I imagine!
@kiran8 (15348)
• Mangalore, India
11 Jul 10
I was once stuck in an elevator for about 10 minutes when there was a power cut and the lift was somewhere in the middle.I was all alone and it was at night time and dark.It was a scary experience and it seemed as if I was inside there for a hour or so before the emergency light came on and the lift started moving ...
@tinym8 (420)
• United States
12 Jul 10
Hi Kiran8,
I think yours is perhaps the scariest response I've received here! My mouth actually opened in shock when I was reading it!
I would absolutely FREAK if I was stuck alone in an elevator at night and the lights went out! What were you thinking when you were waiting in the dark? Were you afraid you would be in there all night? I would probably keep screaming and maybe pass out if that happened (and I've never passed out in my life).
You have quite a story there! I hope you never get stuck in an elevator again!
@o0jopak0o (6394)
• Philippines
11 Jul 10
i was stuck but only for a min or two but it was horrible. because no one would help us in there.
@whitestich02 (1056)
• Philippines
11 Jul 10
i been never stuck up me on the elevator. i think its so scary
@sender621 (14893)
• United States
11 Jul 10
My experience to be stuck in an elevator happened when i was still a child. I remeber it, but i was not scared by it. I know some people get very claustrophobic in elevators. The feeling of being trapped is in the back of your mind when you step inside the elevator. Fortunately, i am not the type of person who fears being stuck in the elevator.
@p3ks626 (6538)
• Philippines
11 Jul 10
I have never been stuck in an elevator and I hope it will not happen to me. It feels scary and uncomfortable being stuck in an elevator. I have one student who got stuck in an elevator once and I asked her how it made her feel but she just told me that she just waited for the thing to run and again and that she never felt worried at all. Hmmm! I wish I was like her but I just hope I am not gonna get stuck in an elevator.
@Beautyfactor (1512)
•
11 Jul 10
I think you are probably the luckiest person ever to be stuck in an elevator with the maintenanace people from the hospital. That is unless you were stuck in a lift with Brad Pitt (swoon), no, only joking lol.
I have never been stuck in a lift but a friend of mine once was, and in a hosptial too! She pressed the emergency bell in the life and there was no reply so after a while she used her mobile telephone to call the ward where her sister was staying and told the nurse she was stuck in the lift. After an hour or so the fire brigade managed to get her out but when she asked why there was no response when she pressed the emergency bell, she was told the maintenance guy was out to lunch lol!
Me, if I were stuck in a lift alnoe I think I would be okay, but only if I knew help was on it's way.
@tinym8 (420)
• United States
12 Jul 10
Hi Beautyfactor,
Yes, it was luck to be stuck with them of all people. They (especially the head of the department) could get the others to rescue us faster than anyone else. It would be nice to be stuck with Brad Pitt too, though. : )
In a hospital they should absolutely have someone else to take the place of someone who has gone to lunch. That's inexcusable! What if a really sick person was on the elevator and had an attack or something? Sometimes I don't know what people are thinking!!
@gladread (30)
• United States
11 Jul 10
I was stuck in a freight elevator just yesterday. Fortunately, I had my cellphone with me and was able to call my wife, then the building management. I just stayed calm and was rescued within about 15 minutes. It was just a good thing that I had the cellphone, that there were people in the building, and that I didn't have to answer a call of nature.
Lessons learned: (1) It's always good to have your cellphone with you; (2) don't get on any elevator in a building after hours, when there's nobody there; (3) never get on an elevator when you might need to use a restroom within the next hour or so.
@tinym8 (420)
• United States
12 Jul 10
Hi Gladread,
I like the fact that you called your wife first even before the building manager. I know she'd want to know if something was wrong. You could be fairly calm since you knew help was on the way. That's the main reason I was so calm when it happened to me. I knew if anyone could get help for us it would be the head of maintenance. lol
I'm glad I didn't know about the fire until we were out, though. I bet the head of maintenance knew about it when he called his department on the elevator phone, though. He must have been a little scared even though he didn't tell us anything, of course. That is maybe why he was so angry too.
Your lessons learned were good ones. I thoroughly agree with all three. : ) Thanks for sharing your experience and your lessons learned. They are good ones for all of us to learn!
@sable9 (15)
• Australia
11 Jul 10
I have been stuck in more fire escapes (the stairs) cause of my phobia of elevators. The stairs can be very scary as nobody can hear you and you don't know if anyone will use the stairs...the door automatically locks and you can't get out. I often think you could be a skeleton before anyone finds you..lol..So now I do take the elevator, but only if someone else is in there.
@mdude53 (29)
• Romania
11 Jul 10
I was stuck in an elevator twice. First time during a trip with my family at the seaside, at the hotel we were staying. I was 5 or 6 years old. We got stuck with other people and all I can remember is that it was to crowdy in there. It took over half an hour to get us out. Second time happened also in a hotel. I was 12 then. Me and my sister got stuck between floors. Luckily, this time it only took 10 minutes or so. I was avoiding elevators after my first bad luck, but now I don't think i'll use them anymore.
@tinym8 (420)
• United States
12 Jul 10
Hi Mdude,
Sorry to hear you've been stuck in an elevator twice. It must have been very scary for you because you were just a child. I don't blame you for not wanting to go on them again. I hope they can somehow make them more reliable so people won't get stuck on them!
@mysterioususer (79)
•
11 Jul 10
i have allso been stuck in a lift for about half a hour it was a nightmare becouse i was like the only person in the building at my work place luckly the lift opend after being jammed up it used to allways play up and i was kind of used to it but never did i think it could get stuck for like half a hour "that was scary"
@chefoto (15)
• Bulgaria
11 Jul 10
I was stuck for approximately 5-6 minutes when i was little, around 4-5 years old. I was with my family and the expirience wasn't very pleasant. After we get out I was afraid to get on an elevator for a few years. It is very uncofortable if you have claustrophobia..
@ellie333 (21016)
•
11 Jul 10
Hi Tinym8, That is why I never use an elevator because the one thing Ihavea fear of is fire and you said that there was a fire downstairs, small admittedly but can you imagine if you were stuck in a life notbeing able to get outand it was a serious one, no stairs from me everytime. Huggles. Ellie :D
@tinym8 (420)
• United States
12 Jul 10
Wow, Ellie, the stories I've read on here tonight I don't think I'm ever going on an elevator alone again! I guess I'll go on with someone else if I absolutely have to but not alone.
My experience was a picnic compared to some I've read tonight. But, yes, God knows what would have happened to us if there had been a bad fire that day. At least people knew we were in there. You could tell the head maintenance man was really angry, though...and rightly so...and happening in a hospital of all places.
@raviteja_ravi84 (2620)
• India
11 Jul 10
Yes i was stuck in an elevator once for a couple of hours. But luckily i had my cell i contacted some friends of mine who helped me out. Till then i watched a movie a walk to remember on my cell phone. There were also a couple of twin sisters with me who looked cute and they also watched the movie with me! 
@tinym8 (420)
• United States
12 Jul 10
Hi Raviteja,
Yes...you sure were lucky that you had your cell with you. Sounds like yours was more of a good experience than a bad one. At least you had good companionship while you were there too. It would have been very different if you had been alone without your cell!
Congratulations on a good stuck in an elevator experience ! : )
@woodman321123 (356)
• China
11 Jul 10
I am never stuck in an elevator before .Of course , I donot wish to have this experience . Because staying a small space like elevator will let me feel scary .Why were not you scary in that time ?
@tinym8 (420)
• United States
11 Jul 10
Hi Woodman,
I'm glad you have never been stuck in an elevator. I too am afraid in small spaces. The reason I wasn't more scared was because the maintenance men were there. The head of maintenance in the hospital was there too. He called the maintenance department on the emergency phone in the elevator, so I knew help was on the way. It still took them over 1/2 an hour to get us out though. The head of maintenance wasn't too happy about that, as you can imagine. It was an experience I'll never forget.
It made it more scary after when I knew there had been a fire in the building. What if it had been a serious fire and here we are stuck in the elevator? Not a nice thought.
@annwishes (54)
• Malaysia
11 Jul 10
Yes...i was stuck in elevator too..once..and hopefully that was the last. Happened about a month ago. To make it worse, it was the elevator in my apartment. My husband and I were just going out at around 8pm. We live on the first floor. On the way down which took seconds, the elevator suddenly jerked and stopped moving. Then, there was this sign "Out of service". Immediately, I felt suffocated. Thank goodness, my husband was there...so less panic. But still we started to sweat. He rang the emergency alarm. And tried to open the door, which he failed. Just then, someone opened the elevator door from outside. I was relieved.
Later, we met someone living in the same block who got stuck in the same elevator for two hours. The elevator needs to be fixed. So after that I don't take the elevator anymore unless it is necessary. Thank goodness, our house is on the first floor.
@tinym8 (420)
• United States
11 Jul 10
Hi Ann,
That must have been very scary for you! I'm so glad your husband was with you to ease the fear. I would agree with you that you shouldn't take it again until it is fixed. I'm glad your apartment is on the first floor. An apartment building should be responsible enough to fix their equipment that is broken for their residents' safety.
That must have been so horrifying for the person who was stuck in there for 2 hours. That's a long time. I wonder if they were alone?
