Fire Crews train on elevator rescues.You see it all the time in movies or on TV. Someone is trapped in an elevator and it's only seconds until it plunges to the ground. Here, in reality, the chances are getting caught in a stuck elevator are a lot better. And you'll be happy to know that members of the Estevan Fire and Rescue recently attended training on elevator rescues. 

"We're fairly well versed and well trained in elevator rescue to begin with," shared Fire Chief, Dale Feser. "Just to give the public a perspective on the nature of the calls and the rescues, last year we did an average of at least one elevator rescue a month."

"They happen for various reasons. It could be from a power failure or an outage. It could be mechanical failure."

He added that if you do find yourself in this situation, remain calm. 

"Use the elevator phone if it is equipped with one to make contact and let people know that you are trapped in the elevator and to call 911. If it is not equipped with one, please make sure that you call 911 using your cell phone."

Provide the address of the building to the dispatcher along with the elevator car number if you know it. 

"Once we arrive on the scene, our first point is to make contact with the individuals inside the elevator car, just to make sure that there are no medical emergencies occurring or anything else we need to be aware of. Try and calm the people inside the elevator. And then return the elevator car to a safe floor so we can use specialized tools and equipment to gain access to the elevator car and then allow the people to be retrieved."

"If conditions exist, we will have them checked out by EMS just to make sure everyone is okay."

He added that many people tend to panic but they are ready to deal with that as well. 

"We find as well that people do have psychological emergencies as well whether it be claustrophobic issues or whatever the case may be and that's just a part of our job to deal with these psychological injuries as well and try to have that voice of reason and contact to try and calm that person down."

If you are trapped for an extended period of time, Feser shares that they often hand out water and granola bars to tide you over. So rest assured, if you ever find yourself in a stuck elevator, don't worry, trained professionals are on their way and will be able to get you out of your predicament in no time.