RICHMOND, Va. -- One resident is sounding the alarm about what she called a huge problem at a premier senior living facility on Richmond's Northside.
Lisa Kirk said she is worried about the nine elevators at the Imperial Plaza.
"Who can I trust? This is a place I call home," Kirk said. "It's a place where I expect to be safe.”
Imperial Plaza
Kirk is referring to these pictures inside of Imperial plaza.
Photos obtained by WTVR CBS 6 News show examples of some elevators halfway open.
Kirk said that sometimes residents become trapped between the elevator's moving doors and the wall. In fact, she said it happened to her while she was in a wheelchair earlier this month.
"Human response is to try to block it, so I put my foot out, and I put my hands out to stop it," Kirk remembered. " And you can't stop it from closing on you."
Kirk said she felt "terrified."
Lisa Kirk
Kirk said after weeks of complaining to management at Imperial plaza about the elevators, the property owners told her the elevators had been inspected and were working fine.
"I said, 'Gentlemen, I have information other than what you're stating all of the elevators failed,” said Kirk.
WTVR CBS 6 obtained a copy of the May inspection records for the nine elevators inside of the four buildings at Imperial Plaza. The results show a rejected status.
The City of Richmond contracts Dominion Elevator Services to provide annual inspections, and a six-month follow up to do testing and check the electrical equipment.
However, it is up to Otis Elevators to make those repairs and Kirk claims that so far the work has not been done.
Inside one of the elevators at Imperial Plaza.
"Who's going to get hurt? What damage is going to have to occur for someone to say this is not right,” Kirk said.
WTVR CBS 6 did confirm with Brookdale Senior Living Solutions, which owns the property, that the elevator repairs were completed since that May inspection.
However, after another complaint this week, Richmond’s building commissioner said an inspector checked all nine elevators again and found that one did have a faulty sensor.
That elevator has been placed out of service until the device is repaired.
A re-inspection of the work is scheduled for Nov. 7, along with another annual inspection.
All nine of the certificates for those elevators are currently in the central office of Imperial Plaza for anyone to review.
Richmond’s building commissioner said those certificates will be displayed inside of the elevators after the Nov. 7 inspection.
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