How to Upgrade Evacuation Lifts Properly

An evacuation lift cannot simply be a standard passenger lift with different signage. When considering how to upgrade evacuation lifts, facilities teams must assess the whole evacuation strategy: who will use the lift, where they will wait, how the lift will remain operational, and who will manage its use during an incident.

For commercial, public-sector, healthcare and education buildings, an effective upgrade can make evacuation more inclusive for people who cannot safely use stairs. It must also be designed around the building’s fire strategy, the condition of the existing lift installation and the relevant British Standards.

Start with the building’s evacuation strategy

The first question is not whether the existing lift can be altered. It is whether the building’s fire risk assessment and evacuation plan require an evacuation lift, and what role it must perform.

An evacuation lift is intended for use under managed conditions during an emergency, typically by people with restricted mobility and those assisting them. It differs from a firefighting lift, which is principally intended to support fire and rescue service operations. In some buildings, one lift may have more than one planned role, but this should never be assumed. The specification must be coordinated carefully with the fire engineer, responsible person, building control team and lift specialist.

A clear strategy should establish the expected users, likely passenger numbers, evacuation routes, refuge arrangements, staffing levels and communication procedures. In a hospital, for example, the upgrade may need to accommodate beds, wheelchairs or assisted transfers between compartments. In an office building, the focus may be on phased evacuation and the ability to move occupants from upper floors without relying solely on staircases.

This early work prevents a common and costly mistake: investing in lift equipment before confirming that the surrounding building measures can support safe operation.

Assess whether modernisation or replacement is appropriate

A detailed lift survey is the foundation of any evacuation lift upgrade. Engineers should examine the lift type, age, controller, machinery space or machine-room-less arrangement, shaft condition, landing entrances, electrical supply and current maintenance history.

Many traction passenger lifts can be modernised successfully where the lift structure, car frame, guide rails and shaft remain in sound condition. A modern controller, upgraded drive, new landing controls and improved communications may extend the useful life of the installation while introducing the required evacuation functionality.

However, modernisation has limits. If the lift has recurring reliability issues, inadequate car dimensions, obsolete safety components or a shaft that cannot be suitably protected, full replacement may offer better long-term value. Hydraulic lifts also require particular consideration. They can be suitable for some low-rise commercial applications, but their power unit location, electrical resilience and travel requirements must be reviewed against the intended emergency-use strategy.

The right approach depends on more than capital cost. Building managers should consider downtime, future parts availability, energy use, anticipated passenger demand and the consequences of a lift being unavailable during an incident.

Design the lift to remain usable in an emergency

Guidance such as BS EN 81-76, alongside the building’s fire strategy and associated British Standards, informs the technical requirements for evacuation lifts. Compliance is not achieved by fitting a single component. The lift, shaft, lobby, power supply and operating procedures must work together.

Protected power and electrical resilience

A conventional passenger lift may be programmed to return to a designated floor and stop operating when a fire alarm is activated. An evacuation lift requires a different, controlled response. It may need a protected electrical supply and, where required by the risk assessment, an alternative or secondary source of power.

The design must also consider how long the lift needs to operate, which electrical systems receive priority, and how power loss will be managed. In some premises, emergency generation may already be available. In others, adding resilience can involve substantial electrical works and careful coordination with the building’s wider life-safety systems.

Water, smoke and fire protection

Water ingress is a frequent threat to lift availability during an emergency. The lift shaft pit, landing entrances and areas above the shaft should be assessed for exposure to sprinklers, hose streams, flooding or firefighting water. Drainage, water detection and suitable protection measures may all be relevant.

Smoke control and fire separation are equally important. Protected lift lobbies, appropriate doors, correctly specified shaft construction and smoke management arrangements can help maintain a tenable route to the lift. The precise solution will depend on the building layout and fire-engineering approach.

Controls that support managed evacuation

Upgraded controls should provide an evacuation mode that is clearly distinct from normal passenger service. Authorised personnel need a straightforward way to take control of the lift, send it to the required floors and prevent unplanned use.

The controller should be specified to suit the agreed sequence of operation. That sequence might involve recall on alarm activation, transfer to a protected mode after authorisation, or phased operation for a particular evacuation zone. It must be tested with the fire alarm and building management systems rather than treated as a standalone lift setting.

Provide dependable communication and information

Passengers and building staff need reliable communication throughout an evacuation. A lift car alarm linked only to a general reception desk is rarely sufficient, particularly outside normal working hours.

An upgraded evacuation lift should be supported by two-way communication arrangements between the car, the responsible management point and, where the strategy requires it, the relevant refuge areas. Communication equipment must remain available during a power interruption and should be tested as part of the ongoing maintenance programme.

Clear signs are also necessary, but signs do not replace procedure. Occupants should understand that the lift is for managed evacuation, not general use during any alarm. Staff need to know who may authorise operation, how to communicate with waiting passengers and what to do if the lift becomes unavailable.

Check the lift car, entrances and routes

Physical accessibility is central to an evacuation lift upgrade. The car must accommodate the people expected to use it, including wheelchair users and, where applicable, an accompanying assistant. Door widths, car dimensions, handrails, controls, floor levelling accuracy and the approach to each landing all need review.

The route from occupied areas to the lift should be practical for the intended users. A technically compliant lift offers limited benefit if the route to the protected lobby is narrow, obstructed or difficult to navigate. In healthcare and education settings, the movement of assisted occupants may place further demands on circulation space and waiting areas.

It is also worth examining traffic capacity. A single lift with a modest rated load may be appropriate for a small office with a limited number of evacuation lift users. It may be inadequate for a large public building where several floors could require assistance at the same time. In those cases, a second evacuation lift, changes to compartmentation or a revised phased evacuation plan may be required.

Integrate the upgrade with testing and maintenance

An evacuation lift must be maintained as a life-safety asset, not just a convenience for daily passenger transport. Planned maintenance should include the components that support emergency operation: the controller, communications, emergency lighting, batteries, door operation, fire-alarm interfaces and any protected or standby power arrangements.

Commissioning is particularly important after modernisation. The lift contractor, fire alarm contractor, electrical contractor and building representative should verify the full cause-and-effect sequence. Testing should cover normal operation, alarm activation, evacuation mode, communication systems, loss of mains power and any manual controls used by authorised staff.

Building teams should then incorporate the lift into evacuation drills and periodic reviews. Changes in occupancy, refurbishment works, new tenancy arrangements or alterations to the fire strategy can affect whether the original solution remains suitable.

Plan the project around operational continuity

Evacuation lift upgrades often take place in occupied buildings, where downtime and disruption need managing. A staged programme may allow one lift in a group to remain in service while another is modernised. For a single-lift building, the project team may need temporary access arrangements and clear communication with occupants well before work begins.

Early surveys can identify practical constraints such as restricted machinery-space access, asbestos-containing materials, shaft ventilation issues, obsolete wiring routes or the need to modify landings. Addressing these before installation reduces programme risk and helps produce a more accurate specification.

Swallow Lifts can support commercial building teams by assessing existing installations, identifying modernisation options and coordinating lift works with the wider requirements of the evacuation strategy.

A well-planned evacuation lift upgrade gives people a safer, more dignified route out of a building when stairs are not an option. The most reliable outcome comes from treating the lift as one part of a carefully managed life-safety system, then maintaining and rehearsing that system long after the installation work is complete.