The jolt is startling as the highlighted floor number above the sliding doors freezes, and all vertical momentum jerks to a stop. The small walls close in as the deadening silence and nervous body odor of the accompanying rider leave no room for comfort.
Being stuck in a campus elevator can be an annoying, time consuming and frightening experience for anyone. Since January, the Department of Public Safety has received 18 reports of people being stuck in elevators, but DPS Associate Director Tom Hicks said he doesn’t think that’s a particularly large number.
“With so many elevators on campus, it’s not an unusual occurrence,” Hicks said.
According to DPS reports, of the 18 reported incidents, four occurred in H.P. Barnhart, four at McKenzie Hall, two at the EMU and two at the Bean freight elevator. The remaining six occurred at PLC, Johnson Hall, Oregon Hall, Willamette Hall, Onyx Bridge and the University Health Center. Hicks said that when an elevator emergency phone is used, a DPS officer immediately responds and attempts to open the unit from the outside while the dispatcher stays on the phone with the trapped individuals to make sure they don’t get claustrophobic.
The most recent incident occurred on the evening of April 12 when an H.P. Barnhart elevator trapped multiple people between the third and fourth floors. Hicks said it took 20 minutes for the Eugene Fire Department to respond in order to reset the elevator and get the people out.
“It can take up to 45 minutes to get somebody out simply because all elevators are designed individually,” said Ernie Connelly, captain of the Eugene Fire Department Station 3, located on Agate Street.
Less than 10 minutes after fire department personnel responded, representatives from Northwest Elevator arrived to assess the situation and determine the cause of the malfunction — in this case, a candy bar wrapper caught in the door contacts.
Northwest Elevator, which has
repaired and modernized all types of elevators and escalators since 1981, has been contracted
with the University since August 2000. When Northwest can’t
respond to an emergency call within 20 minutes, Hicks said fire department personnel from
Station 3 are typically the first
to arrive.
Connelly said elevators can easily jam when they are overloaded or when “people are horsin’ around in them.” And although there are a lot of different ways they can get stuck, he said people need to remember that elevators are made for transportation — not horseplay.
“They aren’t toys,” Connelly said. “They’re tools to get people from point A to point B.”
Hicks said students stuck in an elevator should use the emergency phones available in every University elevator, which are even available during power outages.
“When students use the phone, it comes in as an emergency call,” he said. “So you can rest assured that help is on the way.”
Connelly said the main thing to remember when stuck in an elevator is to remain calm.
“Don’t panic,” he said. “It’s not like the elevator is going to fall to the ground.”