Recently, in the afternoon, when the reporter of the morning newspaper "Lao Ye is more true" came to Mr. Su's house, he saw that there was a slipper at the elevator door on the first floor, and the toe of the shoe was facing the elevator car.
A few days ago, Mr. Su's 87-year-old grandfather died from this position when he stepped into an empty elevator shaft.
Mr. Su said that according to the safety settings, when the elevator car does not reach the command floor, the elevator door cannot be opened easily. But that day, his grandfather casually opened the elevator door on the first floor, but the elevator car was on the third floor, which caused the tragedy of his grandfather falling into the elevator shaft on the negative floor and dying.
On the evening of April 26, the personnel of the elevator company that caused the accident told reporters that they hoped to make an identification of the elevator, find out the reason, and clarify the responsibility. The reporter learned from the investigation that although the use of private elevators in Shanghai is relatively common, there are certain blind spots in the safety management of private elevators.
The private elevator has not been maintained after installation
Mr. Su's home is in a villa community on Wennan Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai. Mr. Su said that his mother was the only daughter of her grandfather, and she bought this three-story villa in order to support her grandfather. In October 2022, the villa was renovated and the family moved in, and the elevator was installed in July and August of that year.
▲The villa where Mr. Su and his grandfather lived
The old man usually lives on the third floor of the villa. Although his grandfather, like other elderly people, also has some underlying diseases, he has convenient legs and feet, and his ability to take care of himself is not a problem at all. Usually he would go out to buy groceries and lottery tickets.
After all, he is an old man in his 80s, and it is still difficult to go up and down the stairs. Mr. Su said that in order to make it easier for his grandfather to go up and down the stairs, they installed this elevator for his grandfather. "I saw the elevator on the online shopping platform, so I contacted the merchant, and the agent came to install it. Mr. Su's mother, Ms. Tang, said.
The price of the hydraulic elevator of Mr. Su's house is 71,800 yuan, including installation fees and freight. The elevator supplier is Jinan Kaijie Heavy Industry Machinery Co., Ltd. On the cover of a "Shenzhao Group Home Platform Quotation", the quotation unit is the Zhangjiagang Branch of Shanghai Zhangmulan Space Design and Decoration Co., Ltd., and Mr. Su said that this is actually the agent.
▲The contract for Mr. Su's family to purchase an elevator
Although the elevator car and the "quotation" appeared many times on the "Shenzhao Group", the relevant person in charge of the supplier, Mr. Dou, said that although their company has business ties with Shandong Shenzhao Machinery Group Co., Ltd., the elevator that had the accident was indeed produced by Jinan Kaijie Heavy Industry Machinery Co., Ltd.
According to Mr. Su, the elevator has not been repaired and maintained since its installation. There have been some small problems in the elevator before, such as the floor display is wrong, the elevator outside shows that the elevator is on the second floor, and the elevator is displayed on the first floor; sometimes, people are in the elevator, and the elevator will suddenly get stuck when it is running. "I reported to them for repair, but neither the agent nor the supplier sent anyone to overhaul it. ”
The old man died from "multiple injuries from a high fall".
Speaking of this tragedy, Mr. Su's family is particularly sad.
"On the evening of April 18, we learned that my grandmother had passed away, so I hurried to Hangzhou overnight with my parents to take care of my grandmother's funeral. Before leaving, my mother asked a neighbor to take care of my grandfather. On the morning of April 20, my grandmother went to the funeral, and I thought that I would accompany my grandfather there for a few days, but we thought that my grandfather also needed to be taken care of, so we rushed back immediately. Unexpectedly, it was still a step too late!"
Mr. Su said that at 4:30 p.m. that day, they rushed home, the car was parked in the underground garage, his father went to the bathroom, and his mother went to a neighbor to get the keys. He was about to take his luggage upstairs, and was just about to press the elevator, when he suddenly heard a heavy breathing sound in the elevator, and then heard someone shouting "Help me!"
"I thought it was a voice from upstairs. Because the elevator shaft leads to the 3rd floor. Sometimes when we were eating, we would also call my grandfather down through this elevator shaft. Since the elevator was not available, I hurried to the third floor to look for it, but I didn't see my grandfather. The elevator is on the third floor, we adjusted the elevator to the second floor, and looked down from the crack in the elevator door, and saw that my grandfather fell to the bottom of the elevator shaft, which is the position of the negative floor. We're going to the rescue right away. Because the elevator is not on the first floor, the door of the elevator room cannot be opened. We had to pry open the screen window next to us and open the door of the elevator hall from the inside, and at this time, the 120 car also arrived. ”
On the way to the hospital, Mr. Su's grandfather was still very conscious. "We asked him about the situation and he said it would take about half an hour to fall. However, at about 8 o'clock that night, the old man died after rescue efforts failed. The death certificate stated that the old man died from "multiple injuries from a high fall".
Mr. Su said that the car does not stop on that floor, and the elevator door will not open.
"At that time, the elevator was on the third floor, probably because the elevator door on the first floor was not closed properly, so the elevator could not come down from the third floor. My grandfather had to come down from the third floor. After a while he wanted to go upstairs again, but the car was still on the third floor, and since the elevator door was not locked, he opened the door casually and habitually stepped in......"
▲ The elevator where Mr. Su's grandfather fell
Who is responsible for the manufacturer and the agent?
On April 22, Mr. Su's family had a telephone communication with the elevator supplier. A gentleman on the other side said on the phone that the contract for Mr. Su's elevator was not signed with their company, but with the agent, so he asked Mr. Su's family to connect with the agent first.
Mr. Su: Are you producing the elevator?
Supplier: There is no problem with our equipment itself.
Mr. Su: The equipment is fine, why do people fall?
Supplier: We only sell you the equipment, the door is not ours.
Ms. Tang: I bought your complete set of equipment. How do I know the door isn't your company? As for who you entrust, that's your business.
On the same day, the agent Shanghai Zhangmulan Space Design and Decoration Co., Ltd. Zhangjiagang Branch also sent personnel to Mr. Su's house. The agent said that they had handed over the problem to the supplier, but the supplier said that it would wait for an appraisal opinion. Mr. Su's family and the agent did not reach a result.
On April 25, the supplier and the agent came to Mr. Su's house, and the two sides directly discussed the accident compensation plan, but did not involve the situation of the elevator itself.
On April 26, Mr. Dou of Jinan Kaijie Heavy Industry Machinery Co., Ltd. told reporters that they were actively negotiating with customers to deal with the accident.
"At the moment we do not know the exact cause of the accident. We hope to find an appraisal agency to do an appraisal of the elevator, find out the reason, and clarify the responsibility. Then we will discuss some specific issues related to the aftermath. ”
▲ Precautions for sticking to the car
There are blind spots in the safety management of private elevators
During the interview, Mr. Su told reporters that his elevator has not been repaired and maintained since it was installed. Occasionally, when some failures occur, after he contacted the supplier and the agent, the other party did not arrange maintenance personnel to come to check.
Mr. Su told reporters that he had also consulted the Jinan Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, where the elevator manufacturer is located, but the other party replied that according to the provisions of relevant laws and regulations, the elevator for personal or individual family use is not included in the scope of supervision by the administrative department.
▲The reporter took a look at the elevator of Mr. Su's house
The installation of private elevators in Shanghai residential buildings is relatively common, and how are the relevant departments in Shanghai managed in the face of private elevators of different brands?
On January 19, 2023, Order No. 76 of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government promulgated Article 2 of the "Shanghai Elevator Safety Management Measures", which stipulates that these measures shall apply to elevator production (including manufacturing, installation, transformation, repair), operation, use, maintenance, inspection, testing, safety assessment and related supervision and management activities within the administrative area of the city. The elevator referred to in these measures includes manned (cargo) elevators, escalators and moving walks. The specific scope shall be determined in accordance with the national special equipment catalogue and special equipment safety technical specifications.
Although the "Measures" do not specifically point out that "individuals or a single family use elevators", but the scope of application of these measures is "within the administrative area of the city", does it cover private elevators?
The relevant person in charge of the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Supervision told the reporter that in accordance with the "Special Equipment Safety Law of the People's Republic of China", if the elevator is not open to the outside world, it will not be included in the supervision scope of special equipment if it is only used by a single family, and it will not be included in the scope of the "Shanghai Elevator Safety Management Measures". From the perspective of the "Special Equipment Safety Law of the People's Republic of China", "elevators for a single family only" have been excluded from the catalog. The elevator used by the family does not need to be managed in accordance with the relevant national requirements, including inspection, maintenance, certification, etc., and there are no mandatory requirements.
The reporter searched for public information and found that the Market Supervision Bureau of Yangchun City, Guangdong Province issued the "Warm Reminder on the Safety of Elevators for Individual and Individual Family Self-use" in June last year, and also mentioned that "individual or single family self-use elevators are not included in the scope of supervision by the administrative department". However, the bureau reminded the public, "When it is found that the elevator is running abnormally, it should be stopped immediately and contact a professional elevator company to investigate the safety status of the elevator." ”