While he correctly notes that the buttons
always work in fire mode (oh, Look! A
comment box where you can type off the
side!), and that's why they're there, in
fact as other posters note, they do often
actually work, though not necessarily
immediately.

A client is an elevator company, and tells
me that it is programmable whether Close
will work in non-Fire mode. But they
don't "pay to put them in as placebos".

My favorite corollary story, though, is
about the elevator company who were asked
to rephase the elevator bank in a very
tall building in New York -- I think this
story comes from Don Norman's Psychology
of Everyday Things (which I refuse to
call by the much less cool title his
publisher forced on him for the paperback).

Users were complaining that the elevators
took too long to show up in the lobby to
take them upstairs.

Their prescription, after doing an analysis
visit? Put big mirrors in the lobby, so
people can check their look before heading
upstairs. That way, people will be
*occupied* while waiting, and won't
notice.

Worked like a champ.