India, Oct. 1 --

By Akhilesh Satre, Director and Elevator Personality, Avinyatech Elevators

India's real GDP growth reached 7.8% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026-27, keeping the country among the world's fastest-growing major economies. Technology, manufacturing, infrastructure, SMEs, agriculture, and real estate are key drivers of this growth. Over the past decade, infrastructure and real estate have increasingly shaped India's urban landscape, driving rapid vertical development. Across major cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Thane and Navi Mumbai, high-rise residential, commercial and mixed-use developments are becoming the norm, transforming skylines and placing greater demands on building safety and evacuation planning.

 

The major question for today's development and planning authorities is: What is the right evacuation strategy for high-rise buildings when a fire or other emergency makes the usual escape route difficult or unsafe?

The real confusion lies in understanding and using terms such as "fire lift," "fireman's lift," and "fire evacuation lift" interchangeably.

When we talk about life safety, terminology cannot be treated as a marketing exercise.

The First Principle: A Lift Is Not Automatically an Exit

The first point to be understood is very simple: simply because there is a lift does not make it a means of escape.

Maharashtra's UDCPR clearly distinguishes between ordinary lifts and fire-lift provisions. Ordinary lifts in a building must not be considered a means of escape during an emergency. The regulations separately address fire lifts and include specific requirements for high-rise buildings, including fire evacuation lifts in buildings exceeding 70 metres in height.

This distinction is important because a fire lift and an occupant evacuation lift (or Fire Evacuation Lift or Fireman Evacuation Lift) have different functions.

As per Maharashtra UDCPR, a fire lift is specified with features like emergency operation and communication, and the regulation says that it shall only be operated by the fireman in case of fire.

Whereas the fire evacuation lift, where permitted or required as part of an approved strategy, has a different consideration: how can occupants be moved safely as part of an engineered evacuation system? Most importantly, this lift is a saviour and can be used by occupants and trained personnel in case of fire without waiting for the firefighters.

The two should therefore not be casually presented as interchangeable.

The Right Question Is Not "Which Lift?" Rather, It Is Which Structure

One of the biggest mistakes in fire-safety planning is starting with the product. It should actually start with understanding the structure:

1.What is its height? 

2.What is the occupancy rate? 

3.How many people could be evacuated? 

4.What are the ways to get out safely? 

5.Where are the stairs? 

6.How are fire and smoke compartmented? But what if the regular electricity is not working? 

7.How will elderly occupants, pregnant women, pets, kids or differently abled people be assisted? 

8.How will the fire service operate within the building? 

The evacuation strategy and building planning should dictate the lift, not the lift dictating the purpose after the project is complete.

That shift in approach is fundamental. A lift may be technically right, but without a surrounding building design that provides the protected environment required for its intended use, it cannot, on its own, deliver the promised level of safety. 

What Makes a Fire Evacuation Lift "Right"?

It is not possible to judge a truly suitable evacuation lift just by looking at the lift car or reading the product brochure.

It should be considered as part of an overall life safety system. The equation includes the shaft, landing, lobby, stair, fire compartments, smoke control arrangements, emergency power, communication systems, controls and emergency operating procedures.

Maharashtra's UDCPR provisions are particularly instructive for buildings above 70 meters. It should be approved by the Chief Fire Officer and connect the fire evacuation lift to the fire tower, smoke-check lobby, and fire-escape staircase.

To avoid confusion, the specifications for constructing the fire evacuation lift have been provided so that no one is misled by an inadequate lift that would serve no practical purpose.

Where Can People Be Misled?

Calling something a "fire evacuation lift" or a "fire lift" does not, by itself, establish that it is suitable for occupant evacuation.

Or:

"This lift is fireproof."

What is "fire-safe" in this context? The claim is about which part of the lift? The lift car, the lift shaft, the landing doors, the lift lobby, the emergency power or the complete system?

Similarly, the phrase: "Evacuation lift as per fire norms"

"Which regulations?"; "What regulation?" "What building's height?"; "What occupancy?" and "What was really approved"

 

Ambiguity is not always a minor communication issue from the life safety perspective.

UDCPR, DCPR and NBC Must Be Understood-Not Just Quoted

Another problem that the industry must resolve is the loose wording, e.g., "in compliance with NBC," "in compliance with UDCPR," or "in compliance with fire safety regulations." Compliance cannot be reduced to just slogans.

The relevant question is not simply whether a product is "NBC compliant."

But rather what requirement refers to the building, which function is being performed, and how the whole installation suits the approved fire system. The difference between product compliance and building compliance is vital.

Why "Fireproof" Is the Wrong Conversation

Another term that deserves scrutiny is the term "fireproof." Buildings do not simply fall into two categories, "fireproof" and "not fireproof." Engineers use measurable definitions of performance: Fire resistance, compartmentation, smoke control, structural integrity, protected means of escape, emergency power, detection, suppression, communication, and controlled emergency operation.

A professional should ask: "What fire resistance and life safety activities must be expected from each of its components, which standards apply, and how has this been previously demonstrated?" That question makes much more sense.

What Do Developers Need to Ask?

 

Before deciding on the fire evacuation lift, every developer and project team needs to answer five basic questions:

1.Intention: What is the claimed function of the lift?  

2.Legislation: Which particular law and technical standard does it follow?  

3.Safety: In what ways are the lift, shaft, lobby, and escape route protected? 

4.Authorisation: How is the system presented in the accepted fire strategy?  

5.Service: Who maintains and operates it and in what conditions?  

 

If the above questions cannot be answered clearly, the term "evacuation" needs more analysis.

 

The Five Questions Every Fire Evacuation Lift Proposal Should Answer:

 

1.PURPOSE: What is the function of the lift?  

2.STANDARD: Which relevant standard and regulation apply to it? List of all the specifications followed?  

3.PROTECTION: What will happen in case of fire, smoke and other risks along the complete way? Does it have external power or battery backup in case of power failure? 

4.APPROVAL: Where is this system specified in the approved fire plan and authorised approvals?  

5.OPERATION: Who will operate it, under which terms, with what emergency power, communication and maintenance?  

 

From Product Marketing to Life-Safety Engineering

 

The high-rise development in India is a reality. Therefore, we have to change our way of thinking about fire safety. We really have to change the focus from product-based fire safety to system-based fire safety.

Developers should demand technical documentation in addition to slogans.

Architects should include evacuation systems within the design.

Consultants should be making a distinction between the fire service's and occupants' roles.

Manufacturers should be substantiating their claims with respective regulations.

Regulators and fire authorities should support the use of clear terms, design and approval requirements.

The more important question is:

"If a fire occurs today, what is the approved evacuation strategy, who is expected to use each route, how are those routes protected, and which systems are engineered to support that strategy?"

That is the conversation we need to have.For more details : https://atechelevators.com/solutions.html#detail-fire



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