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Man freed from stuck elevator
By Jenn Smith, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Article Last Updated: 07/22/2008 11:21:40 AM EDT


Tuesday, July 22
PITTSFIELD - One city resident had a rough start to the day - being stuck in an elevator for nearly a half hour.
Members of the Pittsfield Fire Department responded to a call at 7 North St. between 7:30 and 8 a.m. this morning. The building includes the headquarters of the Berkshire District Attorney's Office, but the incident took place on the residential side of the structure.

Deputy Fire Chief Bruce Kilmer said the elevator stopped at the fourth floor but its doors would not open.

Firefighters first attempted to use a copy of an elevator key but with no success. They then shut down the elevator and used various tools to gain entry.

Meanwhile, officials alerted the building's maintenance supervisor as well as Otis Elevator Company, the elevator's manufacturer.

After about 30 minutes, rescuers were able to free the individual.

According to Kilmer, it is not unusual for this to occur.

"It's happened throughout the city, between the hospital, Crowne Plaza and some of these older buildings on North Street," he said.

LOL WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8:21 p.m.: Man stuck in trench had no permit to work
Contractor: Homeowner will get a bill for $600

by Joe Lanane


ANDERSON - On July 11, Anderson residents learned how dangerous it can be to dig without a permit when the ground caved in on one man 15 feet down.


Anderson firefighters were called to 4403 St. Charles St. to excavate Joseph Parke, 39, from the deep trench he had dug in order to tap a sewer line.

According to Michael Widing, Anderson building commissioner, property owner Brian Smith hired Parke for the task despite having no professional licenses or city permits to do so.

"If a permit had been pulled and my plumbing inspector had gone out there, he had cut this off immediately," Widing said. "So then we wouldn't have been faced with five fire departments having to extract someone and possibly losing their lives. This could have been avoided very easily if someone had pulled an $80 permit."

Instead, area fire department support was called in to carefully dig Parke from the 18-inch wide cavern he had created. Four hours after the preliminary call, Parke was finally above ground and flown to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis to be examined.

A spokesman at Methodist said Parke was no longer under the hospital's care. Parke couldn't be reached for comment.

Even before that, Widing had crews from Rhino's Trucking & Excavating on hand to reseal the hole that he said had been open for almost one week, which Widing said, is another violation in itself. A Rhino representative said the contracted work will amount to approximately $600 for the property owner.

Widing said Smith had previously tried to use Roby's Plumbing, but store representative Dick Roby said it is company policy not to dig that deep.

"I'm scared of deep ditches," Roby said, explaining how the company typically will not do projects deeper than 5 feet. "We've been in a few in the past, and I find I can't sit still in fear at my desk. I have to be out there to make sure (Roby employees are) safe."

The real story behind the incident, Widing speculates, is that Smith hired Parke to serve as "a cheaper option than using legitimate contractors," a practice he said can result in such incidents.

"Having said that, Mr. Smith met with us last week and has since hired a new contractor (Campbell Excavating) and proper permits have been pulled and the work is going forward," Widing said.

Campbell Excavating began work on the property Monday, according to one employee on-site who wouldn't give his name. He said the work has been made more difficult by dirt loosened during the rescue mission.

Smith couldn't be reached for comment.