Mags,

Check out the link below for an article on using elevators for pwd in
high-rise building evacs.  Personally, I think elevator evacuations are
a viable option in a fire.  The primary reason that elevator use is
discouraged in an evacuation is to allow firefighters to move up floors
unimpeded while building tenants move down the stairs.  As the article
suggests, not all of a building's elevators ("lifts", for folks outside
the US) need to be reserved for firefighter use.

http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/159461?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medi
um=email&utm_campaign=JPS_2007_11_6

There are a couple of things that might preclude elevator evacuations.
One of the first steps in an emergency involving the structure itself
(ie., fire, gas leak, earthquake) is to shut off all utilities.  We all
know that elevators don't run without electricity, so you run the risk
of being trapped until the power comes back on or you are evac'd through
the top hatch.  Also, elevators need a straight shaft to operate in.  In
an earthquake that shaft might bend or break, causing the cabin to stick
in the shaft itself.

Kyle

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