Emory University had roughly 100 elevators with expired operating certificates before Georgia began inspections on March 4, according to records obtained by The Emory Wheel from the Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire (OCISF). Two inspectors are now conducting evaluations on campus and hope to inspect all expired elevators by March 13, OCISF Press Secretary and Senior Legislative Liaison Bryce Rawson said.
Elevator operating certificates must be renewed annually in Georgia, Rawson said. However, Emory has elevators with certificates up to eight months out of date. It is the elevator owner’s responsibility to request an inspection, Rawson said, adding that only the state of Georgia or a licensed elevator inspector can conduct safety inspections and issue elevator operating certificates.
“Emory is the one who has to request those inspections to take place,” Rawson said. “They can either request our office and we can try and get those as soon as we can with our limited staff or they can also contract with a third party elevator service.”
Students enter an elevator with an expired operating certificate inside the Woodruff Physical Education Center. (Jack Rutherford/Asst. News Editor)
Rawson said that the owner-operator of the elevator bears responsibility for any accidents that occur while the elevator is operating under an expired certificate.
“We can never recommend that people continue to operate these elevators after the permit has expired,” Rawson said.
Jerry Xing (26B) said he got stuck in the Evans Hall elevator, which had an expired certificate at the time, at about 2 a.m. on Feb. 13 when he decided to get some fresh air in the middle of taking a quiz.
“About two seconds into the elevator going down, I got stuck in between floor four and five,” Xing said. “There was a loud thud noise and the elevator shook a little bit and then it just stopped moving.”
Xing said he was concerned about his safety when the elevator got stuck. After pressing the emergency button, Xing waited about 10 minutes until the Emory Police Department and Campus Services arrived to help him.
“They screwed around for like 20 minutes, 25 minutes maybe,” Xing said. “Then I think they gave up, so then they called the fire department here.”
The fire department had to pry open the elevator doors and “drag” Xing up to the fifth floor because the elevator was stuck in between floors.
An expired elevator operating certificate in Florence Candler Harris Hall. (Esther Fu/Asst. Social Editor)
Facilities Management Associate Vice President David Forbes asserted in an email to the Wheel that Emory’s elevators are “safe.” He added that OCISF’s number of expired elevators was not updated.
“Emory employs an independent elevator vendor to inspect the safety and upkeep of our elevators on a routine basis,” Forbes wrote. “We cannot speculate as to why the state’s website has not been updated with the latest inspection information.”
However, Rawson confirmed that as of March 4, Emory had about 100 elevators with expired operating certificates. The University originally requested last fall that the state inspect their elevators, but there was a backlog after the elevator inspector for DeKalb County retired unexpectedly, according to Rawson.
“There are many, many buildings in DeKalb County that have elevators and so I think we are kind of on the tail end right now of getting all those situated,” Rawson said. “Emory just might be on that tail end.”
News Editor Spencer Friedland (26C) contributed reporting.
Jack Rutherford (27C) is a News Editor at the Emory Wheel. He is from Louisville, Kentucky, majoring in Economics on a pre-law track. When not writing for the Wheel, he can normally be found with the Emory Rowing team or at a Schwartz Center performance. In his free time, Rutherford enjoys listening to classical music or opera, or is out walking in Lullwater.
