Thunder Bay

Social housing agency unaware of elevator concerns

The agency that runs the Thunder Bay apartment building where a woman fell to her death says its elevator licence is current — and it is not aware of complaints about the elevator getting stuck.

Board says there are no records of tenants reporting problems in the building where a woman died after falling into elevator shaft

A woman fell down an elevator shaft last week at the Royal Edward Arms. An official says inspections were routinely done and the elevator's licence was up-to-date. (Jeff Walters/CBC)

The agency that runs the Thunder Bay apartment building where a woman fell to her death says its elevator licence is current — and it’s not aware of complaints about the elevator getting stuck.

The head of the district social services administration board, which operates the Royal Edward Arms under an agreement with the City of Thunder Bay, said there are no records of tenants reporting getting stuck in either of the two passenger elevators. A resident of the building told CBC News it happened to her last summer.

Bill Bradica also said the elevator licences are up to date and that elevators may go out of service from time to time for inspections.

"There are monthly inspections that are performed on the elevators by an elevator company," he said.

"We have a contract for that. On at least an annual basis, the TSSA does do an inspection as well."

The TSSA — or Technical Standards and Safety Authority — said it's still looking into what happened last Friday, when a 31-year-old woman fell to her death.

Thunder Bay police have reported only that there was "a "problem" with the elevator