Total station as life-safety tool

I am in need of something that will help me measure building elevation heights. Do GPS devices offer this feature, or is there something better than a tape measure out there? I know nothing about these things, so if anyone has any suggestions on manufacturers, models, prices, places to research or any other suggestions I'd be very grateful! Please help.

Personal use GPS devices are only about as accurate as +/- 15 feet. This is also dependent on the amount of satellites you are connected to. In some cases, the place where you are located may not get good signal and the accuracy is much less +/- 50 feet, for instance. You may want to check out laser assisted measuring devices. One I know of is called a Total Station and I've seen it used to measure road intersections for accident reconstruction with an accuracy of +/- 1" to 5" depending on the make & model of the instrument used. It basically makes a point cloud and will transfer directly into AutoCAD, etc. Good fortune.

Thanks for all of the advice! i guess the GPS thing isn't a great tool for this app. I need to be as accurate as I can...it's a life-safety, fire code issue. we do have a Fine Total station tool in the office, but I’m not sure that it will work either. i may be measuring distances with SERIOUSLY obstructed views...not worth the hassle. i suppose it's back to sifting through archaic, institutional drawings.