Fifth Ave. Elevator Incident

The elevator at the Fifth Avenue (NYC) store suffered a malfunction as it was rising to the ground floor with five persons inside–the story has received as much blog exposure as the store’s grand opening. Here’s the definitive, first-person account by RaNeX, who managed to step out of the elevator on the ground floor just before the outer door closed and wouldn’t open, and the inner door continued to open and shut. After 45 minutes the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit was able to drain the hydraulic fluid to lower the elevator, and then grabbed the occupants as they slowly passed the store level enroute to the basement. Two persons burned their hands when then reached down to the floor and touched the hot lights surrounding the elevator, RaNeX says on her blog. Note her reference to store security: ex-NYPD officers.