Q During August, elevator 4 in the Ward Building became stuck on the first floor with 11 people inside. It took 40 minutes to get them out. Is this typical? What should happen when an elevator in the medical school complex malfunctions with passengers aboard?

 A If you are stuck in an elevator, press the emergency button on the control panel. University Police should respond and notify Facilities Management, which has an elevator mechanic on duty Monday through Friday plus an apprentice two days per week. If an incident occurs after hours, Facilities Management engineers are called first to rescue trapped passengers, then the fire department is called if necessary.

According to Mort Reed, associate director of Facilities Management, typical time to extricate passengers from a trapped elevator is five to ten minutes when the mechanic is on duty. At the time of the August incident, the regular mechanic was on vacation. Another complicating factor was that a faulty wire caused the emergency phone and bell to quit working. Thanks to a cell phone, one passenger called the Dean's Office receptionist, who then alerted University Police.

Reed noted that the Ward elevators were completely renovated in the late 1980s but are not scheduled for work in the near future. However, funding has been secured to begin renovating the Searle Building and Abbott Hall elevators.

Words of advice from one passenger who was stuck in the Ward elevator: carry a cell phone that works inside an elevator and visit the washroom first. One never knows when a short trip will turn into a long one.

Do you have questions concerning University or Feinberg School policies and procedures you'd like answered in Expressions? Call or e-mail the editor (312/503-8695; expressions@northwestern.edu).