Ask HN: What is the protocol for when someone gets stuck in an elevator?

Questions: What happens when passengers get stuck in an elevator? Context: My building recently replaced the pulley system in our elevator. The replacement caused more problems than it solved, and I've been stuck twice in as many months. First time, we were there for 2.5 hours. We rang the alarm after 5 mins when we realized it wasn't moving. The call box didn't give a response so we used cell phones. We called the building and they sent someone over. The man banged on the door for 20 mins but failed to open it. We didn't call the fire dept because we were worried (correctly) that they'd break the elevator to get us out, leaving it offline for months. After 1 hour we insisted that they call the fire department. After this it took about 40 mins to get us out. We were fine since neither of us are claustrophobic, and understood that elevators have redundancies. 2nd time, we were in for 20 minutes. We called the building and told them to immediately call the fire department. They sent a worker over who opened the doors and (perhaps against protocol) told us to hurry out by climbing up the 3-foot ledge. They said they would take the elevator offline until a technician arrived, but I saw someone else get into that same elevator an hour and a half later. With those situations in mind: - What might be wrong with the elevator? Snapped cables? Mis-calibration? - Does/should the building have a responsibility to call 911? Should the elevator passengers? - Is a building fined by the fire dept when they need to let people out of the elevator? I got the feeling that my building was reluctant to call, and I'm curious about why. - The 2nd time, were let out by a building employee and not the fire department. He seemed to think he wasn't allowed to do this. Was he right? - Anything else interesting you all can think of regarding getting stuck in elevators?