PHILADELPHIA – Thursday morning, an elevator containing one passenger went through the ceiling of the elevator shaft at the Criminal Justice Center (CJC) building penthouse. The cause is currently undergoing state investigation. When the elevator went through the ceiling, debris fell down onto another elevator below, which also contained one passenger. This second elevator sustained little damage. The Philadelphia Fire Department responded to rescue, treat, and transport the elevators’ two occupants.

Because the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry oversees elevator safety and is responsible for elevator inspections throughout the state, questions regarding inspection history should be referred to them. City records show that all elevators were inspected by the state on June 14, 2016, and passed inspection. The remaining six elevators have been cleared again today by state inspectors. The City’s Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) will require that the damage to the elevator shaft ceiling be repaired and that the elevator be re-certified by the state before that bank of elevators can be reopened.