Guy Quenneville
Northern News Services
Friday, May 25, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The NWT's chief elevator inspector, testifying at a coroner's inquest Wednesday into the death of a man who fell from an elevator last year, said there is no legislation in place to force building owners to upgrade aging elevators.

While the safety code for all elevators in the NWT was updated in 2005 to require new elevators to be outfitted with door restrictors to prevent people from being able to open doors during emergencies, the code does not require elevators installed prior to 2005 to be retroactively outfitted with them, said Richard Marion, chief elevator inspector for the territorial government.

Ken McFee fell to his death July 23, 2006, after trying to exit an elevator that stopped during a power outage between the third and fourth floor of Northern United Place.

The purpose of the inquest is for the jury to make recommendations to the chief coroner on how to prevent an incident like McFee's death from happening again.

The elevator was installed between 1975 and 1976, when the prevailing wisdom on elevators held that people trapped inside elevators could pry open the doors with at least 60 pounds of force, said Marion.

Marion said it is not common practice in the NWT or elsewhere to make retroactive changes to elevators.

When the chief coroner, Percy Kinney, asked Marion if there was anything stopping the jury from recommending that such a practice be put in place, Marion said, "No, but it may be a bit of a hardship on owners to retrofit door restrictors on aging elevators."

At another point, Marion said it would be "practically impossible" to retrofit all elevators.

Before his testimony, Marion conducted research on elevator codes on 15 other jurisdictions. Only one - Ontario - has updated its elevator code to require residential buildings and school buildings to install new door restrictors in old elevators, he said.

Larry Elkin, the chair of the board for the corporation that manages Northern United Place, said the board requested a modernization plan from its elevator contractor in April 2003.

The plan, completed in July of 2004, included a recommendation for door restrictors to be installed, although the elevator doors were never deemed a serious safety concern, said Elkin.

Elkin added that the board never moved on the restrictors because it was later told by the building maintenance staff that installing restrictors would be in violation of the NWT elevator code.

The jury is expected to make its recommendations today.