Several Houston buildings lack elevator safety devices

Remember last weekend's story about Norman Fulton, the man who fell 12 stories down an elevator shaft while trying to escape from a stuck elevator at his Galleria-area condo in December? The death might have been prevented if elevators in the building where Fulton lived had been equipped with door restrictors, which prevent trapped passengers from being able to pry open the doors of a stuck elevator car before trained rescue personnel arrive to help them. And according to KTRK, many Houston buildings don't have door restrictors on their elevators.

When an elevator car gets stuck, door restrictors automatically lock the doors closed until emergency personnel arrive and disengage them. In Fulton's case, he pried the elevator doors partially open and an employee of The Woodway, his condo building, helped his two grandchildren out of the elevator. But when Fulton tried to slip out, he ended up missing the hallway floor and slipped into the space between the bottom of the elevator car and the floor — and fell to his death. The state Legislature passed a law requiring restrictors in 1993, but allowed building owners to apply for an extension that expires Sept. 1, 2010; The Woodway planned to meet that extended deadline. That's also the case with several other buildings in Houston, too, including the Twelve Oaks Medical Center and the Wells Fargo Tower on Post Oak Boulevard. "Cost seems to be the primary reason [for not having the devices in place]," City Attorney Arturo Michel told Channel 13.

KTRK also reports that 11 elevators in city-owned buildings, including the central library, the city health lab, the HPD Academy and the former police headquarters at 61 Riesner, also don't have restrictors on their elevators. Michel said the city would bring the noncompliant elevators up to code within 120 days: "Cost is irrelevant," he said. "Let's get it done, and hold us accountable."