The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-05
PLANK FALLS IN
ELEVATOR SHAFT.
Two Slightly Hurt in Empire
Building
BIG CROWD ATTRACTED
John Macon Has Scalp Wound and j.
s. Kennedy Has Thumb Broken.
Jemison Makes statement
About Accident

Two men were slightly injured in an
accident which occurred in the elevator
shaft OF the Empire building yesterday
afternoon. about o'clock, when a large
plank fell from the sixteenth floor
through the roof of elevator No. s.
The Injured are John Macon, elevator
boy, Mobile whose scalp was cut, and
J. s. Kennedy IAN attorney, whose
thumb was broken and hand cut. j. W.
Griffin. who was in the elevator, was not
injured
Macon was carried to Copelands in
fi1mary, where, it was stated, that his
injuries were not serious The physicians
state that he will recover from the shock
within few hours, and that the scalp
wound will not keep him in the hospital
more than three or four days. The skull
was not fractured, and no bones were
broken. Mr. Kennedys hand was dressed
by physicians in the building, and he
was able to leave a few minutes after
the accident
The accident created a great deal of
excitement. and hundreds of people rush
ed 10 the building and attempted to gain
admission, but policemen were stationed
at the doors and kept everyone out eX-
cept occupants. Many people in the
building rushed to the ground floor, and
there was considerable excitement for
some time, but it quoted rapidly after
il was ascertained that no one was fatal
" injured. Robert Jemison, Jr., whose
company is agent for the building, said:
doors
on the sixteenth floor were being made
| in order that elevators Nos. and ) could
run TO that floor. The workmen, who
were installing the iron-door facing, laid
| a temporary floor of heavy planks be-
| tween the cross sections of the elevator
shaft in order that they could work. One
| OF these beams, about ks inches, ano
several feet long, became dislocated and
| fell down the shaft, boring hole through
the ROOF of elevator No. 8, which was
somewhere near the ground floor at the
time.
AS soon as the accident occurred, all
the elevators automatically stopped, which
is the beauty of the traction system we
installed. SO sensitive are the mechan-
| isms CT the elevators, that any accident
| to one Immediately locks all four eleva-
| tors. and 1t is absolutely impossible for
any of them to fall, even an inch. Every
elevator stopped instantaneously this
afternoon.
"A report became current that one of
the elevators dropped. That is not true
at ALL Such a thing is a physical i'm
possibility. The elevator stopped as soon
as the beam struck it, which fact Is evil
denced by the location of the elevator
between the first and second floors There
are three automatic stops on each engine,
and one on each elevator, there being
four projections against accident"
In order to get the occupants of the
elevator out, a portion of the bronze grill
work over the elevator door on the first
floor wsc broken out with Ratchet, and
the me-. in the elevator lifted out. Ma
con, the elevator boy. was lifted to the
floor by several employees of the building
and bystanders. He was placed in Lige
Logs ambulance and rushed to the hospi-
tai.
Two of the elevators were in commits
sion within an hour after the accident
ana third made one trip. 1t was stated
last night that all four will be in COM
mission this morning.