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I'm surprised that there isn't an emergency phone in the elevator. Maybe they aren't required for freight elevators, but they ought to be. I'd work with your building to see about getting one installed. Meanwhile, don't get in that sucker without your cell!

our elevator stops from time to time, it used to be much more frequent. people would be ringing the bell until first floor tenants came out to look for the super.

the super did show me what to do if ever trapped, to get it started again.

that stinks! in my building there are signs next to the freight elevator on every floor reminding people to close the door all the way so that others don't get stuck...

Sherry BinNH is right--there should be a line connected to the elevator. You could check with the city d.o.b. on this one.

There is an elevator in my building which is designated a freight elevator. It's a regular old elevator like in a high-rise. However, this elevator is set to freeze up if the doors are left open after the buzzer goes off. So, in other words, if you prop the doors open, the elevator will freeze.

I never understood why there is not a simple sign that says, "if the elevator buzzes, let the doors close."

When I lived in London, I got locked in my bathroom after a bath for about 5 hours when the door handle came apart in my hand. (Painters had taken it off to repaint the door and not put it back on properly). Thankfully I had the "facilities" nearby, but no phone or anything, so I just made it a day of beauty and gave myself a facial, pedicure, etc. Fortunately (but embarrassingly!) the girl I lived with was selling the flat, so in the afternoon the estate agents came around to show the place to a nice young couple ... imagine their worry when they open the front apt. door to the sound of someone shouting "let me out ... I'm trapped in here!" Plus, the agent was very cute.

I was super paranoid about that door after that, and always kept the door open if I was home alone.

While putting away holiday ornaments in the attic (ceiling truss space,) I heard the thump of doom. The truss space cover had slammed down. Naturally, there was no handle. Christmas ornaments failed to provide much in the way of tools. Fingernails could not move it. The cat refused to help. I finally worried a nail out of one of the trusses, and pried the cover up. After that, I carefully put the cover down flat, not just propped up nearby.

I got trapped in my childhood bedroom this morning while visiting my parents. The doorknob wouldn't turn at all, and I was home alone, so I had to phone my grandmother to come over and rescue me. She slid a spoon under the door and I pried the knob off. If there hadn't been a phone in the room I would still be there well into the evening.

This one is super silly, but be sure that someone has a set of emergency keys for you. And here's a second back-up fail-safe for that: keep an extra set of car and home keys in your place of work, if you have a secure place to do so. It has saved me a couple of times. Once in particular, when I took out the trash and had the building door shut behind me without my realizing I had neither phone nor keys. If your emergency key person is out of town or unreachable, you might be SOL. An extra set at work may be the easiest way to solve a lockout on your own.

I got locked in the parking garage of my old apartment shortly after moving in. I forgot my key to the building when I ran out to get something from my car. The gate for cars to go through was sensor activated and I jumped up and down on it but I guess I wasn't heavy enough to activate it. I didn't get out until someone drove into the garage about 30 minutes later and let me in!

I also got locked in the bathroom at work once. It was during the holiday party and the door knob came off in my hand. I had to wait for someone else to come in to let me out. How embarassing!

Never jump out of an elevator that is stuck between floors. People frequently die from this. They jump foward and their feet land on the floor but the force of landing pushes their bodies backward into the open shaft. Death.

How about hanging a cowbell on a cord in the elevator until a phone is installed.

i got locked in a stall one at work. another woman went to get help, i managed to get the locked turned with a quarter before she came back with a super.

and i once was on a greyhound when a woman got stuck in the bathroom while we were laying over at a depot. she was mortified when they brought in a station mechanic to help.

It's bad enough to be locked in anywhere - but an elevator would be the scariest. Especially a modern one that has completely closed doors. You'd have no idea if anyone can hear you, and if the lights go out that would be worse.
Cell phones don't usually work inside these elevators and you can only hope that the emergency button yields some help.

It's happened to me once, albeit for a very short duration.
But since then I keep dreaming of elevator nightmares quite often. Not to mention I still don't feel comfortable getting into an elevator all by myself.

I'm also suspicious about the emergency buttons in the elevators.
Once when trying to help out a neighbor who was stranded outside her home without the keys, after all attempts to contact the maintenance at the emergency numbers yielded no response, we tried the emergency button in the elevator. The line kept ringing, but no response there either.
I can only pray this is not what happens in a real emergency!

I got stuck in my elevator too but for over 2 hours and at 2:00am in the morning! I was with my dog as well. A team of firefighters had to rescue us and we crawled up a tiny little ladder. Now every time I get into the elevator I am crossing my fingers that it will not get stuck.

Because we gotta have more cowbell, AliceG!

Seriously, the worst story I heard regarding being stuck in an elevator was this poor fellow:

http://news.aol.com/newsbloggers/2008/04/15/man-stuck-in-elevator-for-41-hours/

this is a time-lapse video of the fella who got stuck - crazy!

http://www.newyorker.com/online/video/2008/04/21/080421_elevators

and the accompanying New Yoker article about elevators (specifically being stuck in them) was great (if horrifying)!

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/04/21/080421fa_fact_paumgarten

I have not been stuck in an elevator that I can recall and I can't recall the last time I got stuck anywhere else for that matter.

In my current building, I had the unfortunate situation of being roused from my sleep around midnight this past fall when the elevator in our building caused the fire alarm to go off and boy are those suckers LOUD (and for good reason!) Anyway, earlier that day I think the guy had come to fix the 47 YO elevator and that night someone used it and the belt began slipping, smoking which then set off the fire alarm, a false alarm at that. Grrr...