Residents need not worry if lift breaks down (only applicable for PAP wards?)

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Sometimes, you got to learn to read between the lines. This comes from years living in an opposition ward in a PAP-dominated Singapore. Are residents of Potong Pasir and Hougang not Singaporeans too? Do we deserve to be trapped longer in lifts because we chose to exercise our voting rights? Sigh.

Forum letter taken from Straits Times Interactive:

Residents need not worry if lift breaks down (June 30, 2008)

I REFER to last Wednesday’s letter by Mr Lim Keng Hian, ‘No help if HDB lift breaks down’.

First, we would like to assure Mr Lim that he need not worry if he is trapped in an HDB lift as the PAP town councils have an efficient and comprehensive lift rescue practice and system in place.

All HDB lifts maintained by the PAP town councils are connected to a tele-monitoring system which monitors the operation of the lifts 24 hours daily.

The system will detect any passenger trapped in the lift once an alarm is raised by passengers pressing the alarm in the lift. This alarm message would be sent to the Essential Maintenance Service Unit (EMSU) which will deploy the lift rescue team to site to release the trapped passengers.

In addition, the sounding of the alarm will have alerted residents who can also lend a hand by calling the EMSU whose telephone number is displayed in the lift lobby.

Residents trapped in the lifts will be rescued within 25 minutes from the time lift breakdown is registered, a lift rescue performance standard set by the PAP town councils.

In the event of power failure, each lift which is equipped with an emergency backup battery will continue to supply power to the alarm, ventilation fan and lights. In addition, when power failure takes place, the lift will move to the nearest landing and open to release passengers. These are some of the safety features in HDB lifts which may not be present in lifts in commercial buildings and private estates.

We advise passengers who are trapped in the lift to stay calm, press the alarm and wait for our lift rescue team to arrive. It is important that trapped passengers do not try to force open the lift door as it may delay the rescue operation.

We would also like to assure Mr Lim that the maintenance and servicing of lifts are carried out regularly to minimise incidence of lift breakdowns.

Albert Teng
Coordinating Secretary for PAP Town Councils

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