The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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January 5, 2009

Elevators in Oklahoma are accident "waiting to happen"

Every day, people step into elevators, push a button and expect to be delivered safely to their floor. So, it might be surprising to many that more than 100 elevators in Oklahoma were shut down for safety problems in the last fiscal year.

One person responsible for elevator safety inspections said many of the elevators were accidents waiting to happen. For example, in one case, a forklift was rigged to work like an elevator.

Accidents involving elevators which occurred in 2007 include two women stuck in a state office building elevator for more than half an hour, an elevator dropping suddenly, people tripping because the elevator not being level with the floor or an elevator coming to an abrupt stop.

Until 2006, there was no state law requiring elevators to be licensed or inspected. Now, the Oklahoma Labor Department inspects more than 1,000 elevators, escalators or lifts a year. The state also licenses elevator contractors, mechanics and inspectors.

From the recent report, it sounds like the elevator inspection program has been a long time in coming. Both Oklahoma City and Tulsa have had city inspection programs, but it sounds as if expanding these programs to the state level has been helpful.

It’s apparent the state still has a lot of catching up to do since the law has only been in effect for a couple of years. In the meantime, people who work in office buildings with elevators should notify their building superintendents of any problems or concerns about the elevators.

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