Two girls found themselves trapped late April 13 in a Main Library elevator. It was 1:00 a.m. and for thirty minutes, they were suspended two and a half feet below the fifth floor, waiting for a technician to come get them out.

After freeing the girls, the technician found the cause of the stuck elevator  — a wash rag.

“A rag had fallen down the crack and got wrapped around a safety mechanism,” said Mark Duclos, director of the physical plant.

No one was injured, and the elevator was repaired the next day, a common occurrence on campus.

“It’s not uncommon for elevators to malfunction,” said University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson. “We see, on a rough guess, 40 to 50 stuck elevators a year.”

And just like other repairs, elevator maintenance comes at a steep price.

“We do have an elevator modernization program based on needs, not years,” Duclos said. This means that repairs only occur when something breaks, not on a schedule.

Each year, the major repairs and renovations program uses funds to update elevators, roads and sidewalks, along with other real estate.

Money is allocated to the fund based on a list of renovations set for that year.

This year, $700,000 were allocated for elevator repairs.

“We look at how we want to spend that and pick elevators that need the most renovations,” Duclos said.

The two elevators that were on the list to receive repairs paid for by the fund were located in the River’s Crossing and forestry buildings.

Both required door restrictors — a safety mechanism that prevents people from opening the doors when they are stuck.

“Sometimes, if the estimate comes in lower than what was planned, we can get another repair in,” Duclos said.

Duclos did not know the cost to repair the Main Library elevator, but said the money came out of the general repairs budget.

When a situation does arise where people are stuck in an elevator, Duclos and Williamson advise them not to try and escape the elevator on their own.

“You may think it’s OK to crawl out, but the elevator may start working and you may lose a limb,” Williamson said.

Duclos said Physical Plant employees and police are not in charge of getting people out of elevators, rather elevator technicians — specialist who are better equipped to handle those situations ­— rescue anyone left stranded.

“Technicians get people out and do what is necessary to get the elevator working,” Williamson said.

He further advised that  the telephone button located in the elevator is a valuable tool when elevators malfunction and people get stuck

Also, Williamson said it’s important people understand these elevator inconveniences can happen.

“They’re mechanical devices,” Williamson said. “They do break down.”