Do Not Use Lift Sign

Do Not Use Lift Sign

A do not use lift sign warns crew and passengers that a vessel’s lift or elevator must never be used as an escape route during a fire, since a power failure or heat damage can trap occupants between decks at the worst possible moment. This pictogram-only design is fitted directly beside lift call buttons and inside lift lobbies on passenger ferries, cruise ships, and larger commercial vessels fitted with internal lifts, reinforcing the same instruction given in the vessel’s muster and fire drill briefings. It works alongside directional escape signage rather than replacing it.

The pictogram shows a black lift-car silhouette with flames beneath it, overlaid by the red diagonal bar and red circle of the ISO 7010 prohibition family, with no wording on the sign face. This do not use lift sign carries IMPA code 33.6300 and ISSA code 47.563.00, the maritime catalogue references ship chandlers and marine safety suppliers use to source an exact match for a vessel’s fire safety plan rather than a generic lift-restriction notice.

Placement Around Lift Lobbies and Escape Routes

Class societies and flag state fire safety plans typically require this sign at every deck-level lift lobby, positioned where it is visible before a passenger or crew member presses the call button, not only at the lift doors themselves. On a multi-deck vessel that means fitting one per lift per deck, which adds up quickly on a large passenger ship, so many operators order this do not use lift sign in batches sized to the vessel’s full lift schedule rather than one at a time. It typically sits beside, not on top of, the general fire action notice for the deck.

Manufactured on fire-retardant board suited to the enclosed, temperature-controlled environment of a lift lobby, the pictogram is printed with UV-stable ink so it does not yellow or fade under lobby lighting over years of service. A photoluminescent version is available for vessels wanting the pictogram to remain visible if lobby lighting fails during the same fire event the sign is warning against, which is a sensible pairing given the scenario it addresses. The board resists warping in the humid, air-conditioned lobby environment typical of passenger accommodation decks, holding flat against the bulkhead rather than curling away from its fixings over time.

The sign is stocked as both self-adhesive vinyl for glass or painted lift surrounds and rigid panel for bulkhead mounting, and browsing our full range of prohibition signs alongside this one makes it easy to source matching fire-safety pictograms for the same refit. Reordering against IMPA 33.6300 or ISSA 47.563.00 keeps this do not use lift sign consistent across every lift lobby on the vessel. Both formats are supplied cut to the standard size expected at a lift call point, so no on-site trimming is needed before fitting.

Supporting Fire Emergency Procedures Onboard

Fire safety training aboard ship reinforces that lifts must not be used once a fire alarm has sounded, a principle reflected in general evacuation planning guidance from Safe Work Australia and mirrored in the ISO 7010 pictogram this sign is built from. Keeping the same do not use lift sign fitted at every lift across a fleet means crew moving between vessels never have to relearn where the instruction is located. It also gives a class surveyor a quick, visual confirmation that the fire safety plan’s lift-lobby signage requirement has actually been carried out rather than only documented on paper.

During a fire drill, the officer running the exercise will often stop crew at the lift lobby specifically to confirm they know to take the stairs instead, using this sign as the visual prompt for that discussion. Because the pictogram needs no translation, it also reassures passengers from any nationality that the instruction applies to them the moment they see it, which matters most in the first chaotic minutes of a real fire when clear, instant communication can materially affect how quickly a deck is evacuated. On a large passenger vessel, that reassurance is reinforced further when the same pictogram appears identically at every lift lobby, deck after deck, rather than varying in style from one refit to the next.