LAS VEGAS -- Some of the workers who fix Las Vegas elevators and escalators say state inspectors are missing major safety problems. Recent Las Vegas elevator injuries highlight the importance of state oversight.
The vast majority of elevator and escalators operate without injuring the people who use them. But much like the airline industry, elevator technicians are aware that when things go wrong, it can be deadly. Some of those whose lives are on the line are the men and women responsible for fixing the moving machines. Some of them say they fear for our safety.
Torrance Clow was an elevator repairman. He died in 1999 at the Sahara Casino after falling down a shaft while repairing an elevator. Don Akins used to work alongside Clow.
"Talking to his kids about their dad and them asking me, 'how could something like this happen?' That was really hard to explain to his daughter," Akins said.
He, along with other elevator technicians, believes Clow's death could have been prevented. They say flaws with the elevator wiring controlling cab movement should have been caught with a state inspection just prior to the accident. Elevator techs say they know they work in a hazardous business and some are afraid those hazards are spilling over into public use areas.
Elevator deaths are rare but they've spiked to four nationwide this year. Most involved people being cut in half when elevator cabs shot up on their own. Local news reports blame electrical wiring problems overriding elevator safety features.
Las Vegas has a number of recent elevator accidents. A courthouse marshal was trapped in an elevator last year. The man escaped physical injury, but says he is mentally traumatized. The I-Team obtained records showing county workers knew the courthouse elevator had repeated chain failures.
At the Palms, last year, a man fell down an elevator shaft.
"That mouse trap was just sitting there waiting for the right circumstances to develop," said William Stanley who leads the elevator constructors union. He says the man fell because state inspections didn't catch a failsafe door lock that had been turned off for years.
Nevada's Division of Industrial Relations oversees elevators and escalators. The I-Team asked state inspectors for all records they had on that accident but the state didn't give much information.
A state attorney responded that inspectors have seen casino elevator surveillance videos and maintenance logs but can't give the I-Team copies because they did not collect them for their investigation.
Some elevator technicians say the problem is at the top of the state inspection system. They claim the man running southern Nevada's elevator inspectors, Roy Perry, is dangerously inexperienced.
"Mr. Roy Perry is an individual who passed a test to become a qualified elevator inspector but absolutely has no practical knowledge of the industry. Never worked in the industry, never worked on an elevator, never worked for an elevator company, has absolutely no practical knowledge of the elevator industry," Stanley said.
The I-Team did obtain emails from a state inspection safety supervisor. He says his managers know about a safety issue with escalators used by several Las Vegas casinos. Otis Elevator Company states those escalators were located at Monte Carlo, Flamingo, Stratosphere and Binions. The I-Team can not determine from state safety records when, or if, those escalators were fixed.
Read Letter About Escalator Wiring Issue
Because of multiple wiring issues, the escalator may not stop if a person got their shoe or foot stuck, according to a state safety inspector report. The supervisor writes of a "serious safety defect" and a "moral obligation" for state managers to intervene.
The I-Team wanted to see if the escalators in question were fixed. State elevator inspection managers would not go on camera. Manufacturer Otis Elevator Company writes that the Flamingo and Stratosphere requested and received escalator wiring upgrades. According to the company, escalators at Monte Carlo and Binions comply with applicable Nevada elevator safety codes. But Akins and other technicians dispute the company's assertion.
"Not all elevator accidents are fatal. Somebody's going through life with a mangled hand," said Akins.
State inspectors issued a statement saying, "Because this repair involves a wiring change from the manufacturer's design, progress in repairing these escalators has been slow because of negotiations between owners and elevator companies; the number of proposed repairs prior to final approval; and the number of escalators with this problem."
Portions of video provided by ElevatorExpert.Net.
