Several aging seniors were trapped in a New Jersey elevator over the holidays.

The only working elevator in the six-story Essex county apartment building malfunctioned Christmas Eve and some of the senior citizens had to be rescued.

They were not rescued in the elevator, as you might imagine.  They had to be  helped up and down several flights of stairs which many of them were physically unable to tread. One lady had to be taken to the hospital.

This story brings up an alarming fact those of us who care for the elderly need to be aware of.

Things don’t always get fixed during the holidays and sometimes only skeleton crews are on the job.  This could be deadly for some of our elderly who can’t get the help they need when emergencies come up.

But what about the other elevators in the building?

There was only one other one and it had not been working  for three weeks.

Orange, N.J. Deputy Fire chief Michael Dowd has some poignant questions for the building owners. Why hadn’t  the elevators been  fixed sooner?

I think the answer to that was lack of power, and I’m not referring to electricity.  The seniors did not have clout and the building’s owners thought the problems could ride until the holidays were over.  Besides getting good help is always a problem, right?

But why would the building’s owners try to keep out the media?  No matter, the senior citizens shot their own video to illustrate their frustrations.

There’s more irony.  A technician sent out the day after Christmas said she could not fix the elevator and would have to return later.

Could new elevators be the solution or new management? 

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