Managers’ Mood Sinks—

ETH Elevator Stalls

For The Fourth Time

By Kendra Bobowick

Decisive and angry words followed news that the Edmond Town Hall’s new elevator became stuck for a fourth time on Friday, October 13, and trapped five people inside.

“We need action,” said Board of Managers Chairman Jay Gill.

The incident is the fourth since the elevator became operational in the spring. Since that time Kone elevator company personnel have been responding to the various incidents in attempts to locate and repair the problem. Like the superstitious jinxes associated with Friday the 13th, similarly June 3, August 29, and September 1 also became unlucky dates for travelers who had crossed the elevator’s threshold. Most recently, Kone representatives provided a public apology to the board of managers and had offered explanations of what they believed to be the problems at that time.

A Kone regional service manager attributed the June 3 incident to electrical problems. Following the August 29 incident, one technician attending to the elevator declined comment. The September 1 incident saw Kone technicians installing new weight sensor equipment by September 6. A new set of gate switches also was installed. Following the series of breakdowns and repairs, service manager Jeff Jenkins offered apologies last month and told the board, “I wish there was more we could do. Our intent is to bring back trust in [Kone] and our services.”

Board member Sandra Motyka accepted the company apology then, but is no longer satisfied with the approach to repairs.

“I think we need to hear from the company what they’re going to do…we have got to pin them down,” she said. “It’s not enough.” So far Kone has responded to the emergencies and technicians have attended to the elevator in each case. Ms Motyka, among others seeks a better answer, however.

“They have to be proactive instead of reacting to something that goes wrong,” Ms Motyka said.

The public’s confidence is unfortunately shaken, which Mr Mahoney confirmed this week.

“A lot of people are not going on it…it’s a terrible situation,” he said Monday during the Board of Managers’ regular meeting.

The elevator’s malfunctions are a matter of public safety, Ms Motyka noted. “Our old [elevator] is more reliable than this one…we can’t have a public elevator in the building that doesn’t work.”

Board members chose to contact the company and demand a response this week.

Mr Gill stressed, “Tell them we need them here…We need to see somebody better in here fixing this thing.” He and others speculated about what the problems might be, suspecting the electrical system might be to blame for the consistent breakdowns.

The building’s original Otis elevator, currently insufficient to comply with the newer Americans with Disabilities Act codes, will remain in operation. The entire elevator project that includes new entranceways to the elevator and an outdoor ADA compliant walkway cost roughly $1.6 million.

Building Administrator Tom Mahoney has confidence in the elevator manufacturer, but not the particular elevator installed at town halls. He explained, “Kone is a very reputable company, they’re all over, but this elevator definitely has got some problems with it.”

Since the board met Monday to discuss last Friday’s mishap, Mr Mahoney indicated that one of Kone’s senior people is coming to Newtown to look at the elevator. Kone elevator was a bid item, and Kone was the lowest bidder for the project, he said.

Firemen’s Report:

Newtown Hook & Ladder firefighters went to Edmond Town Hall about 8:57 pm on Friday, October 13, in response to a call to free five adults who were trapped in the building’s relatively new elevator, marking the fourth time since June that the fire company has responded to such situations there.

Hook & Ladder First Assistant Fire Chief Mike McCarthy, who served as incident commander, said there were no injuries in the incident, but stressed that the continuing problems with the elevator must be resolved because eventually some physical injury or adverse emotional reaction would likely occur among people who become trapped in the elevator.

In the October 13 incident, the elevator car became stuck with its doors closed about five inches below the level of the “Ground” level elevator lobby. The elevator serves four levels of the building.

Several of the people trapped in the elevator were clients of Ability Beyond Disability, which serves handicapped people. One of the trapped Ability Beyond Disability clients uses a walker, Mr McCarthy said. Two of the people trapped in the elevator were aides for the handicapped people, he noted.

After the call for help was received, the trapped people were freed from the elevator in less than 30 minutes, Mr McCarthy said.

Firefighters used a special key to open the elevator door, and then helped the passengers step up to the Ground level lobby, he said.

About a dozen firefighters responded to the call.

“We have to have this problem resolved,” Mr McCarthy said of the continuing elevator malfunctions.

Previous elevator entrapments occurred on September 1, August 29, and June 3.

(Andrew Gorosko contributed to this article.)