Elevator trapping incidents increase in Canada

Canada, especially Toronto, is plunging to an elevator crisis as the problem of malfunctioning elevators is worsening, according to a research Thursday.

In 2015, for example, firefighters in Ontario alone responded to 4,461 calls to extricate people from elevators -- more than a dozen a day -- and double the number from 2001, an investigation by The Canadian Press has found.

"I don't think we're heading toward a crisis, I believe we're already there," said Rob Isabelle, a mechanical engineer and elevator consultant to property managers and owners. "If we look at the reliability of a large number of pieces of equipment, it's really the worst it's ever been."

Among cities, Toronto led the way last year with about 2,862 elevator-rescue calls to 911, but others also had their share of problems. For example, Montreal firefighters responded to 1,532 such calls, Vancouver responders went to 428 calls, while Ottawa saw 314 in 2014.

Many calls involve rescuing more than one person. Others who find themselves stuck are freed without 911 involvement.

Last week, 16 people were trapped for more than two hours in an elevator near the top of the Skylon Tower, a well-known Niagara landmark overlooking the falls from the Canadian side.

Firefighters, elevator technicians and the tower's maintenance staff had to manually lower the elevator to the basement level. Rescuers were then able to open the doors, freeing the passengers.

Niagara Falls fire chief said the operation was time consuming because of the height of the building and the elevator's design, and they didn't know why the elevator stopped working.

Insiders say the steep rise in problems is partly the result of more elevators -- Ontario has seen a 10 percent increase over the past five years. But the real culprits, they say, are aging equipment and structural issues within an industry dominated by big multinationals.

Elevator injuries, however, remain relatively rare. Putting a price on user inconvenience is harder to quantify.

Some of the most problematic elevators in the country are found in Toronto's public housing buildings, many of them high-rise.

Ontario's regulator has mandated the upgrading of single-speed elevators typically found in buildings of three to five storeys. Endit