Elevators are like your car. They’re great until they break down.
The Durango Fire Protection District responds to dozens of rescue calls around the city each year, but with statewide regulation and new technology, elevators are safer than ever.
“(Elevators are) such a small percentage of our calls, but it’s a tool that people use regularly. When something does happen, people go, ‘Wait a minute. What’s going on?’” said Karola Hanks, fire marshal with the Durango Fire Protection District.
Crews have responded to 24 elevator calls so far this year, with five in the last month. (The 24th rescue occurred Tuesday at the Lightner Creek Village in west Durango.)
While that number might seem like a lot for a community of Durango’s size, about 18,500 residents, it’s not.
The fire department responds to about 6,000 calls each year, so elevator rescues translate to fewer than 1% of incidents.
The Durango area, including north to Purgatory Resort, has some 162 elevators hidden away in multistory buildings, according to data from the Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety, which regulates elevators across the state.
“There’s a lot out there that are functioning well and we haven’t dealt with,” said Rod Allen, a battalion chief with the DFPD who responds to elevator calls.
The oldest elevator is in the Strater Hotel and dates back to 1926. However, that elevator was modified in 2008, making the General Palmer Hotel’s the longest continually running since 1955.
The tallest are all located at Purgatory Resort. The Eolus Condominiums and Purgatory Lodge both have elevators that rise seven stories.
Rescue calls most often come from downtown Durango. They are almost always a result of an elevator getting stuck between floors or the doors not opening, Hanks said.
When people stuck in an elevator, they have two options for contacting the fire department for help – if the elevator is new enough.
If people have cellphone service, they can call dispatch directly.
Otherwise, they must press the emergency call button on the elevator, which connects them with an operator who then calls the fire department.
That call must be answered within 45 seconds by a live person, according to David Hutchcraft, chief inspector for elevators and other conveyances with the Division of Oil and Public Safety.
“For us, it’s a rescue as any other rescue would be,” Allen said.
The fire department aims to arrive within a few minutes and once at the scene first responders speak with the trapped person.
“One of the things people don’t realize is that elevators are not soundproof,” Hanks said. “We can hear them and they can hear us.”
The person trapped is often stressed, but firefighters do their best to communicate and calm the situation
“If we’re outside talking to them, that helps reduce the anxiety,” Allen said.
Firefighters train extensively on the electronics and mechanics of different types of elevators so they can respond to rescue calls.
DFPD runs its own training program and Hutchcraft travels around the state teaching firefighters how to manipulate elevators to help those who are trapped.
Often, all that is required is recalling the elevator or resetting the electronics to open the door.
Once at the scene, the process usually takes 20 to 45 minutes, Allen said.
“People may feel like the rescue takes a while, but it’s because we’re making sure that we go through all the reset processes and do everything very calmly in a controlled manner so that they are exiting the elevator in the safest fashion possible,” Hanks said.
Both Hanks and Hutchcraft warned against any attempt to leave the elevator before the fire department arrives.
“I know it’s claustrophobic to sit in an elevator and wait for us to do those things, but it is the safest location,” Hanks said. “The only time that you hear of someone getting injured is when they are trying to get out of the elevator without waiting for it to be lowered to a floor level and the doors open.”
Even if people get trapped in an elevator, they shouldn’t worry about their safety.
Manufacturers equip them with numerous safety mechanisms, including a battery backup that lets passengers call even if the power goes out.
“Elevators are actually extremely safe,” Hutchcraft said.
In 2008, the state began requiring all elevators register with the Division of Oil and Public Safety.
Elevators must go through a rigorous test and inspection process when they are first installed and they must pass an annual safety test and inspection.
They undergo more robust evaluation every five years, Hutchcraft said.
All of this is required by Colorado’s elevator code, which was updated in 2021.
Recent changes in the state’s elevator code reflect new technology that has become more available in recent years.
“Advancements in technology have made the elevator safer,” Hutchcraft said.
New elevators are now required to have video and text capabilities as a part of their emergency communication systems, he said.
The new video feature was designed specifically for cases of entrapment to help firefighters see inside.
Hanks and Hutchcraft said high-traffic elevators are most often the ones that break down.
“Those (rescue) calls are going to come from the buildings that probably use the elevators the most,” Hanks said.
“They’re moving pieces of equipment just like a car or anything else that needs regular maintenance,” Hutchcraft said. “The majority of it can be minimized with regular maintenance.”
Many residents and visitors will continue to use elevators as they always have, likely never considering the inner workings of elevators unless they find themselves one of the rare people stuck.
“We don’t think of (elevators) as being someplace where we’re going to have a problem,” Hanks said. “When you see that (24) number that seems high, but it’s not a high call volume.”
“Just don’t say that to the person stuck in an elevator,” she said.
ahannon@durangoherald.com
