stuck elevator

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Real Estate Near Crystal City is Hot — “In the 22202 ZIP code — which comprises Crystal City, Pentagon City, Aurora Hills, Aurora Highlands and Arlington Ridge — there are only 11 homes for sale right now, according to Realtor.com. Only three are single-family homes. The rest are condos.” [Washington Business Journal]

Escape Room Nearing Opening — Bond’s Escape Room in Clarendon says it will open in about two months. “I’m happy with the way it’s coming along!” said founder Egor Bondarev. [Instagram]

Circulator Bus Now Free — Rides on the D.C. Circulator bus are now free indefinitely, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday. The bus line has a stop in Rosslyn. [Fox 5]

Transportation Partners Honored — “On March 19, the Arlington County Board honored 31 local businesses and properties for their dedication to sustainable transportation for employees and tenants, as part of Arlington Transportation Partners’ (ATP) Champions program.” [Arlington County]

Seven Freed From Stuck Metro Station Elevator — “Firefighters freed seven people trapped in an elevator at the Crystal City Metro station Wednesday morning, according to a report.” [Patch, Twitter]

Politico Owner Launching New Tech Site — “Robert Allbritton, the executive chairman of private equity firm Perpetual Capital and publisher of [Rosslyn-based] Politico, is preparing to launch a global technology news site, the latest sign of growing investment in tech coverage across American journalism.” [NBC News]

Nearby: Halal Butchery Opposed in Alexandria — “Though city staff and Alexandria’s planning commission recommended approving DC Poultry Market’s application, dog lovers showed up to the Alexandria City Council’s March 16 meeting to object on olfactory grounds (‘My dog can smell when there’s a cookie down the block,’ one resident said) and on proximity to poultricide (‘Knowing that my dogs may be walked by a business that holds chickens in a windowless room before their throats are slit while fully conscious does not make me feel that my dogs are in a safe environment,’ another said).” [Washingtonian]

Flickr pool photo (originally published in 2016) by Kevin Wolf

Firefighters Use ‘Jaws of Life’ to Free Trapped Elevator Passenger at Ballston Metro

By ARLnow.com

A malfunctioning elevator at the Ballston Metro station made for an unpleasant morning commute for a woman at the Ballston Metro station Thursday.

The woman was trapped inside the station’s elevator at ground level after the doors would not open.

The Arlington County Fire Department was called and firefighters used the “jaws of life,” a heavy-duty hydraulic tool, to pry open the elevator doors. The started passenger was then able to squeeze out of the gap between the doors, where she was evaluated by paramedics.

ACFD posted a video of the incident on its Twitter account.

Medics and Patient Get Stuck in Elevator

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Fire Department BadgeArlington County paramedics encountered an added difficulty on the job when they became stuck in an elevator with a patient suffering a medical emergency this morning.

A crew responding to a medical emergency at the Whitmore apartments (4301 Columbia Pike) attended to the patient, who needed to be transported to the hospital. But they got stuck in the elevator on the way to the ambulance. A second engine crew initially was called to assist, but the crew already on scene managed to free the people in the elevator.

ACFD deputy fire marshal Brian McGraw said the impact to the patient was minimal because the stuck elevator delayed the medical workers for less than five minutes. He said medics were equipped to continue caring for the patient inside the elevator while they waited to be freed.

“It’s not a frequent issue,” said McGraw. “But from a patient care perspective, whenever we put a patient in an elevator, we have sufficient personnel and resources to render the care they need inside the elevator.”

McGraw would not comment on the nature of the patient’s medical emergency, but scanner traffic referred to the patient’s status as “priority 1,” which typically indicates someone with a life-threatening condition. The person was transported to Virginia Hospital Center.

Commuters Trapped in New Rosslyn Metro Station Elevator

By Andrea Swalec

About a dozen commuters were trapped in a Rosslyn Metro station elevator for about 20 minutes on Sept. 18, 2014.(Updated at 1:50 p.m.) About a dozen commuters were trapped in an elevator for 20 minutes at the Rosslyn Metro station during rush hour Thursday morning.

One of the three high-speed elevators on N. Moore Street — which are less than a year old — broke down about 8:15 a.m., according to scanner traffic.

A commuter who was rushing to work after being freed from the elevator said the group remained calm as they waited for help.

The entrapment was caused by a power surge that is under investigation, WMATA spokeswoman Caroline Laurin said.

The elevators, designed and built by the Arlington Department of Environmental Services as part of a $50 million project, went into use in October 2013, when the new station entrance opened.

The elevators went out of service in December 2013 because of an electricity-related glitch.

All three of the elevators on N. Moore Street were taken out of service after the incident and had resumed operation by 11:15 a.m., the WMATA representative said.

DES spokesman Eric Balliet said authority over the Rosslyn station elevators was transferred from the county to WMATA about a month ago.

Three Stuck in Rosslyn Metro Elevator

By ARLnow.com

Via the scanner, we hear that the Arlington Fire Department is working on freeing three people from a stuck elevator at the Rosslyn Metro station.

Firefighters are currently trying to determine where the elevator car is within the long elevator shaft.

Update at 3:30 p.m. — TBD reports that the three passengers were freed by firefighters after spending about 20 minutes stuck inside the elevator.