ADVICE TO THOSE WHO MAY GET CAUGHT IN LIFTS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 60, 4 March 1949, Page 9

ADVICE TO THOSE WHO MAY GET CAUGHT IN LIFTS

Your. chance of being trapped in a lift is one in 100,000, and the odds against injury in a lift accident are even greater, said Mr E. Shuttleworth, service manager of a lift installing company in Sydney lyMr Shuttleworth, who is in charge of the maintenance of 2000 elevators throughout Australia, was referring to a case in Sydney several weeks ago when five girls were taken to hospital after being rescued from a lift which had crashed to the bottom of a lift well. He has travelled 20,000 vertical m'iles in his 40 years’ association with lifts, and has never been trapped in one. In reassuring the public on the actual safety of lift travel, and keeping in mind the large number of people who still claim such travel is dangerous, Mr Shuttleworth said lifts never really crash or get out of control. “They don’t crash because automatic brakes are applied as soon as a lift’s speed exceeds its rated safe speed by 10 per cent,” he said. “These brakes will stop a fast lift and that’s one travelling at 600 feet a minute in six feet. —“lf they should fail, hydraulic buffers in the lift well will absorb any shock of impact. “The liftman has an emergency switch that will stop the lift if his other control does not work.' So, you see, a lift is never really out of control,” Mr Shuttleworth added. “Take that incident when five girls went to hospital for treatment” he said. “The girls were not shocked by the fall, because the lift came to rest on the hydraulic buffers.” He said that they were shocked, but only because they saw plenty of blood when the liftman cut his hand in breaking a glass panel. Here is his advice if you do happen to get stuck in a lift:— Yell to attract attention. Ask whoever answers to ring the company doing the maintenance. The number is always displayed inside the lift. Wait until a mechanic releases you. Above all, don’t panic. You are quite safe.