As a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, code provisions for emergency egress from tall buildings are being re-examined. There is renewed interest in the use of elevators for both occupant egress and fire fighters access. Therefore a Workshop on the Use of Elevators in Fires and Other Emergencies was held in Atlanta, Georgia, March 2-4, 2004. This workshop was co-sponsored by American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME International), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), International Code Council (ICC), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), U.S. Access Board, and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).

The workshop focused on two general topics:
(1) Use of Elevators for Egress
(2) Use of Elevators by Fire Fighters

The workshop consisted of Plenary Sessions during which selected papers were presented, as well as Breakout Sessions for attendees to brainstorm various ideas and develop recommendations. The workshop goal was to come up with concrete proposals that are being put forth to the various code-writing groups to help improve our model codes and standards. ASME has created a website for the Workshop on the Use of Elevators in Fires and Other Emergencies. The papers submitted for the workshop along with the recommendations of the Breakout Sessions are available at the workshop website .