Tier Garage elevator down after multiple riders trapped
The city's fire department shut down the elevator inside the tier parking garage on Cunningham Street Tuesday after their second or third trip there on that day alone to free entrapped riders.
Jim Chiprean, the city's parking manager, said while he hoped the elevator would be back up and running by Tuesday evening, he decided in the interest of safety to keep the car closed down through Monday due to the extremely low temperatures forecasted for the rest of the week.
Capt. Tom Fair said the elevator was in good condition for many years, and there were minimal calls to rescue passengers stuck inside.
“We're over there probably every other day now, and sometimes it's consecutive days,” Fair said. “We're having more and more issues with it lately.”
He said the car seems to be stalling between the first and second floors.
Firefighters shout up the shaft from the ground floor, Fair said, to alert the passenger they are there.
The elevator is then powered down and reset, which occasionally fixes it and allows the passenger to use the button to get to the floor they want.
But most times, Fair said, firefighters must manually pull the car down and force the doors open to free the rider.
“It's our job and we do it, but I feel bad for the people,” Fair said. “If you park on the fourth floor and you're a little elderly, you don't want to use the stairs.”
One of those riders is Kandi Nassy, who works at a Main Street business, who was trapped in the elevator for almost an hour.
This is an excerpt — pick up Wednesday's Eagle or subscribe to butlereagle.com to find out what is wrong with the elevator and read more about Nassy's experience being trapped in the elevator.
