Yellowknife (July 26/06) - A 66-year-old man is dead after falling out of an elevator in his downtown apartment building Sunday evening.

The man, Ken McFee, died of "multiple blunt trauma," said NWT chief coroner Percy Kinney.

"There was significant bleeding internally," he said. McFee also suffered a broken arm and leg in the three-storey fall.

McFee retired from the Gold Range bar last December where he worked as a janitor for 18 or 19 years, said manager Nadene McMenemy.

Known for his love of photography and racing cars, McMenemy said McFee will be missed. One of his favourite places to take pictures was Cameron Falls.

"He was a great guy, I was very close to him," she said.

His sons planned to come to Yellowknife Tuesday evening from Winnipeg, she said.

McFee and a 19-year-old Ndilo resident were inside one of the elevators in the Northern United Place when the power went out, stopping the elevator somewhere between the third and fourth floors.

The men were stuck there for about 15 minutes before they decided to get out themselves, police said.

The men pried open the door and the 19-year-old jumped to the third floor.

McFee attempted the same feat, but lost his footing and fell down the shaft.

The Ndilo man tried to save the senior, but could not hold onto him, according to police.

Acting fire chief Darcy Hernblad said McFee was conscious and speaking to the fire crew, who arrived on the scene at 8:51 p.m., three minutes after they received the call.

The crew analyzed the scene and decided they needed more help, said Hernblad.

"They put out a full group alert."

Hernblad said nine firefighters and one supervisor were able to quickly extract and stabilize the man despite the confined space at the bottom of the elevator shaft, also called a pit.

But McFee succumbed to his injuries early Monday morning at the Stanton Territorial Hospital.

The chief elevator inspector for the territorial government, Richard Marion, said he is in the preliminary stages of his investigation, adding this has never happened before in Yellowknife.

Marion said there was an emergency phone in the elevator that worked even if the power was out.

The Northern United Place building has a total of three elevators, he said.

During a power failure, the elevators can be controlled individually using power from an emergency generator.

"You select an elevator ... and it will come down (to the bottom floor) and the doors will open," said Marion.

The switch can be operated by security, maintenance, or building managers.

Marion said he isn't sure if anyone was trying to get the two men out at the time of the accident.

Northern United Place is owned by the NWT Community Services. The building manager, Gail Leonardis, could not be reached by deadline.

Peter Chynoweth, minister at the United Church located in the building, said McFee does not have any family in Yellowknife. Though no one has called, the minister said, "I have talked to the building manager and offered any help I can."

He said there is no memorial scheduled for McFee, but plans could change. The Saturday night jam session at the Gold Range will be dedicated to his memory.

Kinney said he is continuing to investigate the death.

Depending on the circumstances, there could be recommendations on how to prevent this from happening again, he said.