 The toddler then fell through a 16-inch gap. Inspectors say the switch should have required a key to operate or should have been in a locked panel.
Newer elevators are designed so there is no gap between the door and wall. Building owners have until 2015 to have older elevators retrofitted.
The chief building inspector in Joliet says a code violation played a role in an elevator accident which injured a 2-year-old boy last week. The child fell down an elevator shaft at the plaza hotel.
Inspectors tell the Joliet Herald News that the boy probably flipped a switch which stopped the elevator between floors and opened the doors. The toddler then fell through a 16-inch gap. Inspectors say the switch should have required a key to operate or should have been in a locked panel.
Newer elevators are designed so there is no gap between the door and wall. Building owners have until 2015 to have older elevators retrofitted.
The state fire marshal’s office has temporarily suspended the licenses of two inspectors who certified that elevator in October.
For more:Â http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7932805
