Manchester firefighters rescue four teens from London trapped in hotel elevator

Apr. 7—City firefighters rescued four students from England who became trapped in an elevator at the Tru Hotel in Manchester early Saturday.

Around 9 a.m. Saturday, Manchester firefighters responded to the Tru Hotel at 135 Spring St. for a report of occupants trapped in a stalled elevator.

Upon arrival, crews confirmed there were four occupants trapped in an elevator car stuck between the first and second floors.

Engine 11 attempted to recall the elevators to the first floor using the Firefighter Phase 1 feature without success, Battalion Chief Kenneth Proulx said in a release. Phase I elevator recall is an automatic sequence initiated by the fire alarm system to return an elevator cab to the designated recall floor.

Also known as "Fire Service Mode," this is a special feature allowing firefighters to take control of an elevator in order to access different floors of a building quickly and safely. In this mode, the elevator bypasses any calls from other floors and travels directly to the floor requested by the firefighter.

Phase I operation is typically activated either manually by using a special key, or automatically initiated when a fire alarm near the elevator is triggered.

Rescue 1 personnel determined the occupants — four teenagers from London, England, — needed to be removed through the top hatch of the elevator car.

Once the power source was located and disconnected, Rescue 1 manually opened the outer doors to the elevator shaft on the second floor, removed the top hatch of the stalled elevator car and made contact with the teens.

A ladder was lowered into the elevator car and a belay line assembled to remove the trapped students.

A member of Rescue 1 entered the elevator car to help occupants put on a harness for removal and assist them up the ladder while on a belay line.

Firefighters helped the four teens out of the top of the elevator car and into the elevator lobby.

No injuries were reported.