Evening star., 1936-04-01
ACTION PROMISES
TO TIGHTEN Up ON
EXISTING HAZARDS
0ehmann and Bureau of
Standards Expert to
Study Regulations.
SURVEY OF LIFTS
TO TAKE 4 MONTHS
Commissioner Says Prevention Is
Immediate 0bjective-Inspec-
tors Given Wide Discretion.

Acting under orders from Col. Dan
I. Sultan, Engineer Commissioner, a
committee of building experts today
was to reopen the Districts investiga-
tion into the fatal accident to Harvey
Crowell, 13, killed March 10 by an
automatic elevator in the apartment
house where he lived at 76ll Georgia
avenue.
The committee, headed by Col. John
w. Oehmann, building inspector. and
John A. Dickinson, elevator expert Of
the Bureau of Standards, was in
structed to study the building and
safety regulations "to see that thing
like this can't happen again."
Whether any attempt will be made
to fix the responsibility in the building
inspectors Office for the death of the
boy was left in doubt by Col Sultan.
"I don't know whether our inspec-
tors were on the job 100 per cent or
not" Col. Sultan said, but I am con-
vinced that in this case the inspectors
acted in good faith.
Prevention Now Goal.
"Our first job now. though, is to see
that a thing like this can't happen
again"
Sultan said the committee would
endeavor to clear up any regulations
that may be vague, although the pres
ent District law, he asserted, Is mod
eled after Bureau Of Standards re-
quirements.
Dickinson was one Of the witnesses
who appeared at the inquest into the
Croweu death and disagreed sharply
with Elmer E. Owens, elevator inspec-
tor, on whether the fatal elevator met
the prescribed requirements.
1t apparently has required two fatal
accidents in automatic elevators here
to convince the building inspectors
Office Of the need Of further protec-
ton for passengers, particularly chill
dren.
The protective means proposed Is
the installation of grills on the inner
side of landing doors, to reduce the
space between the landing doors and
elevator car doors to about Az inches.
small enough to prevent even child
from being caught between them.
Some Dangers Eliminated.
After the first such tragedy, in 1929
the death of 5-year -old John F. VIII
liams, jr., in an automatic push-button
elevator in the Bayhead Apartments.
724 Third street-such grill was put
in at the order of the building in
spector's Office.
Since that time, similar grills in
tended to preclude repetition Of the
fatal accident, have been installed In
other apartment buildings throughout
the city, but on a desultory system
and when, in the opinion and discre-
ton of the building inspector, "haz-
ard" existed and grill was necessary.
The discretion of the building IN
spector was not sufficient to prevent
the fatal crushing Of the Crowell boy.
The inspector apparently had seen no
"hazard" there, and consequently hao
not ordered grill installed.
Now, convinced that all automatic
push-button type passenger elevators
should be surveyed with view to in
stalling grills where the space between
doors is greater than about Az inches.
Col. Oehmann believes probably two
thirds of the elevators of this type in
the District, estimated at between TOO
to 800, will be affected.
I'VE ordered a grill put on the Bay
head Apartment elevator doors shortly
after the accident" he said, al
though we had no authority at that
time to do so. But the apartment
house owners willingly agreed. as
have others since.
Present Code Years Old.
"since 1881, when the present code
went into effect, we have ordered
grills put in wherever the distance
between the landing door and the
landing threshold has been greater
than 4 inches"
Oehmann said, however, that while
change in the code was advisable.
it was not necessary in order to have
apartment house owners install grills.
The installation could be ordered as
an administrative procedure, and
probably would be carried out by the
apartment house owners. At least.
he could remember no cases where
apartment house owners had refused
to comply with such an order.
An investigation Of some Of the
elevators where grills have been in
stalled during the past six or seven
years shows the distance between the
landing doors and the landing
thresholds varied from 3R to 81
inches. The grills reduced that dis.
tance to from u of an inch to 1Z
inches, and brought the space be-
tween the landing and elevator car
doors to about AZ inches.
Explains Arbitrary Standard.
Asked why he had ordered grills
installed on the third floor Of the
elevator at q building on Connecticut
avenue, where the landing sill meas
ures 4 inches. and at another building
on @ street. where the landing sill
is only 3k inches, and not in the
Georgia avenue apartment, where the
Crowell boy was killed, Oehmann re.
Piled.
cit was left to the inspectors. II
they thought a grill was needed, they
had one put in. There was no stand
ard. Why, we all thought the code
was all right. It was written by ele-
vator experts"
Dickinson, at the inquest last week.
testified the Georgia avenue apart
ment elevator was not in accordance
with the District Code, and If 1t had
been the distance between doors would
have been az inches.
The inspectors are expected to COM
plete their survey Of the Districts ele.
vators In about -four montha