State behind on elevator inspections

AUGUSTA – Some of Maine’s elevators haven’t been inspected in 10 years and the state’s record-keeping system is so poor that officials aren’t even sure which elevators are in operation.

About 130 elevators in the state have not been inspected in more than a year – including seven that have not been inspected since 1991, according to an analysis by the Portland Press Herald.

The state does not keep track of elevator operating status or ownership changes, so it doesn’t know whether uninspected elevators are even running, the newspaper said.

Those findings come a week after the death of a Maryland boy who was crushed in an elevator accident at the Bethel Inn.

Joseph Tucker Smith, 8, was killed after he became trapped in the space between the outer door and the inner gate of an old-fashioned elevator car. He was crushed when it moved from the lobby to the second floor.

The gap in which the boy was trapped was 7 inches wide, exceeding the 4-inch limit set by state regulations that took effect in March.

The boy’s death has focused attention on why the deficiency of the inn’s elevator was not detected. It also has drawn attention to the state’s elevator inspection program as a whole.

State records show 300 elevators that have been inspected have not been recertified by the state because state officials have yet to review the inspectors’ reports.

The state also has ordered the owners of almost 400 elevators to fix relatively minor problems, but state officials cannot say what the compliance rate is for such state-mandated repairs.

S. Catherine Longley, commissioner of the state Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, would not comment on the significance of uninspected elevators because of uncertainty about the accuracy of state records.

She insisted the inspection program is sound, while conceding there is room for improvement.