Lifts · Urgent
Trapped in a lift: what to do while help is arranged
General guidance for Singapore condo residents. Follow current official advice and confirm arrangements for your own building.
Use the alarm and stay clear of the doors
BCA advises pressing the lift alarm button, waiting for help and using the emergency number displayed inside the lift to report the malfunction. Do not pry the doors open or try to climb out. A gap or visible landing does not establish that leaving the car is safe.
Give rescuers useful details
If the intercom or phone connects, say which development and block you are in and give the lift identifier if you can read it safely. Describe how many people are inside and whether anyone needs urgent medical help. Follow the responder's instructions rather than trying controls at random.
Tell management or security
A companion outside can alert the estate's security or management office, giving the same location and identifier. They can coordinate the authorised lift team and access. Do not ask an untrained neighbour to force the doors. If one call does not connect, use the other posted contact or ask someone outside to report it.
Treat a medical emergency separately
For a medical emergency, call 995 and explain that the patient is inside a stopped lift. Give the precise location and follow the call-taker's instructions. Routine lift assistance and emergency medical response are different needs; describe the actual situation rather than promising a particular response time.
After release
Tell management what happened, when it occurred and which lift was involved. Keep the incident reference if supplied. Follow any restriction on use until the responsible team confirms the next step.
Ask your management office
Send your management office this question, with the details it needs already set out: The lift is out of service. When will it be fixed?