By Mark van der Feyst
When there is an elevator entrapment, the people inside will sometimes start to panic due to claustrophobia, illness, fear of being trapped, etc. No matter what the reason, trying to keep them calm is an important part of the entire operation.
Incident command will need to assign a firefighter to be that point of contact with the occupants. It is important to maintain that point of contact the entire time. Communication with the occupants needs to inform them of what is going on, what the fire department is doing as far as actions, unusual sounds that are heard and what is going to be happening next. It is also important to garner information on them such as medical conditions, names, and needs they may have. By keeping constant communication with the occupants inside, their fears will hopefully replaced with calmness.