The boy was trapped in the elevator to save himself and died: the out-of-control elevator, where is the "way out?

On May 8, it was reported that recently, the news that #13-year-old boy fell to his death due to failure of elevator failure swept the Internet, causing people to discuss elevator safety.

In the city with high-rise buildings, the elevator has become an indispensable setting in people's life. However, the frequent "cannibalist elevator" incident in the newspapers also makes public opinion hotly discuss the supervision responsibility of elevator safety.

Figure: In May 2020, two boys in Xiaogan, Hubei Province, were stuck in the elevator shaft after stopping the elevator, fire emergency rescue. Photo by Fu Chuanhu

13-year-old boy died after picking door

Elevator "cannibalist" incidents occur frequently, whose responsibility?

Recently, a 13-year-old boy fell to his death in the process of self-rescue from an elevator failure in Fuzhou, Fujian.

According to media reports, the surveillance video showed that the boy pressed the button on the second floor, but the elevator rose to between the 6th and 7th floors. The child slapped the elevator door one after another and pressed the "emergency call" button for help but did not get a response. The boy rescued himself in the elevator and pried open the car door and the 6th floor elevator door with a long handle umbrella. At about 18:34, the boy got out of the car from less than half a meter high, and then an accident happened.

In recent years, elevator safety incidents have occurred frequently, and disputes about "cannibalizing elevators" have also been focused by public opinion. According to the "Notice on the Safety Status of Special Equipment in the Country in 2020" issued by the General Administration of Market Supervision in March this year, by the end of 2020, the number of elevators in the country had reached 7.8655 million, with 25 elevator accidents and 19 deaths throughout the year.

The causes of these accidents include illegal operations or improper operation, equipment defects or failure of safety components or protection devices, improper emergency rescue (self-rescue), inadequate safety management and maintenance, and so on.

In addition to the elevator accident itself, there are more disputes caused by elevator safety. China News Network through the referee documents network search "elevator" "accident" "property", in 2021 alone has reached more than 300 documents.

Data map. China News Network reporter Li Jun photo

Observe the disputes caused by these elevator accidents. In many cases, the failure of the elevator alarm button has a certain impact on the casualties of the trapped people. Then, why does the alarm button that can save lives at critical moments fail frequently? Who will bear the responsibility of supervision?

"Elevator emergency lighting and emergency rescue buttons are one of the key points of elevator annual inspection, requiring that they be connected under any circumstances." Qiao Jian, the person in charge of an elevator installation and maintenance company in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, told China News that if the help button cannot be connected in time, it is not in compliance with the regulations.

Qiao Jian said that according to the relevant national regulations, the quality inspection of elevators is relatively comprehensive, including all safety components of elevators (speed limiter, safety gear, buffer, upper and lower limit devices, safety circuit, etc.), load-bearing load test, emergency lighting, five-party communication, etc. The elevator can only obtain operation permission after all the tests are passed.

Qiao Jian introduced that in daily life, the property will generally contract the maintenance of elevators to a professionally qualified elevator company,According to national regulations, it is required to repair twice a month."Large companies will have strict requirements on maintenance work, but some irregular small companies may not take maintenance seriously, leading to hidden dangers in the use of elevators."

An Xiang, director of Beijing Dexiang Law Firm and deputy director of the Civil Law Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association, said that according to the relevant provisions of the Civil Code, the property company assumes the management and maintenance obligations for the elevator of the building in accordance with the agreement between the law and the owner. In the event of a malfunction that eventually leads to casualties, the property company needs to be liable for compensation.

An Xiang said that if the elevator itself has quality problems or design defects, residents can sue the property company and the elevator company, or directly sue the property company, and then the property company can recover from the elevator company.

How many elevators are in service over age?

The safety supervision of old elevators attracts attention

After the legal responsibility, the elevator safety incident does not seem to be complicated. But behind the frequent elevator safety incidents, why is the regulatory responsibility repeatedly absent?

According to media reports, in the death of a 13-year-old boy, the community security said that the elevator was put into use in 2005 and has been used for many years and is seriously aging.

"Under normal circumstances, when the elevator is out of service, the elevator car door cannot be pried open with an umbrella from the inside." Qiao Jian said that if the elevator could be opened from the inside in the incident, it may be that the elevator model is too old and there is no door opening restriction device.

The old elevator is the place where many elevator panic events occur in reality.In late June 2019, an old elevator of Zhongyi hot spring building in Qindu District, Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, broke down and stopped between the second floor and the third floor. An old man's leg was stuck and died. Earlier, in a 25-year-old elevator in Fengtai District, Beijing, a woman stepped into the elevator with one leg and the elevator suddenly rose, causing her left leg to be broken.

It is worth mentioning that in our country, there is no provision for the overall service life of the elevator.

In April 2019, at the public message on the official website of the General Administration of Market Supervision, the Special Equipment Safety Supervision Bureau said in response to the question "Does the country have regulations or regulatory requirements for the service life of elevators": Elevators that have been used for more than 15 years are called Old elevators are a statement in the industry. At present, my country does not have regulations on the overall service life of elevators.

Previous public information shows that in 2001, Beijing issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of Residential Elevator Scrapping in Beijing", which basically determined the elevator scrapping period to 15 years. At that time, the "notice" was even considered by the industry to be the only document in China that clearly stipulated the life of the elevator.

In February 2016, China's first national standard for scrapping the main components of elevators was implemented, and the scrapping of old elevators is changing from "one size fits all" to specific analysis of specific situations.

In the view of Qiao Jian, who has been engaged in the elevator industry for many years, the new and old standards for 15 years are mainly due to the aging of electronic and mechanical components, or the production standards are inconsistent with the current national standards. In reality, the number of years is not the only standard for testing the quality of elevators.

In Qiao Jian's company, there are about 1100 elevators, of which about 10% are over 15 years old.

"Some elevators that have been used for more than 20 years are still in good condition, and high-quality maintenance plays an important role." Qiao Jian said.

Qiao Jian believes that the failure of elevator equipment is inevitable. In addition to some extreme events, many casualties occur due to the residents' lack of knowledge of elevator safety.

"In reality, the elevator is similar to the phenomenon of slide and falling ladder, and most of the cases are the performance of the elevator reset operation. It is important to understand the relevant knowledge and deal with emergencies correctly."Qiao Jian said.

"Blind self-help is suicide"

Elevator distress, what is the correct way to open?

Elevator safety is related to the life and health of residents, elevator failure can not be cut off, how to stop the tragedy?

From a legal point of view, An Xiang said that the safety production department should increase supervision."Not only should regular testing be carried out, but also the daily management and maintenance should be strengthened. At the same time, the competent department of the property company also has the obligation to urge the property company to perform its duties in accordance with the law."

experts said,For possible elevator failures, the property company shall take prompt measures.For example, what should be done when a fault is encountered? Is it clear that a certain behavior should be taken and that a certain behavior should not be taken?

"If the property company has marked the safety tips in detail in or around the elevator, and also introduced the solutions to the unexpected situation, the responsibility can be reduced accordingly." An Xiang said.

Qiao Jian believes that the popularization of elevator safety knowledge in advance needs to be strengthened. "In daily life, if you encounter an elevator shutdown or a trapped car, you should use the emergency rescue button inside the elevator as soon as possible to call for help through the five-party communication device."

"Blind self-help is almost tantamount to suicide." Qiao Jian said that the elevator is not a sealed space and the air circulation is normal. There is no need to worry about the risk of suffocation. Once the phone is connected, the location of the trapped elevator will be notified in time and the rescue will be calm.

Qiao Jian called for the strengthening of elevator safety publicity, "for example, property companies, relevant government departments, elevator companies canIssue brochures on elevator first aid knowledge, play videos, or use pictures in elevators to remind people to reduce blind self-rescue and tragedies."

Article source: new network client

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