Maryah Qureshi’s 90-minute ordeal in an Art Building elevator has raised concern over the reliability of elevators across campus.

The elevator became stuck about 4 p.m. Jan. 27 with Qureshi, an operations management major, trapped inside. She waited for nearly 1 1/2 hours while the NIU Physical Plant waited for an on-call repairman to arrive from Downers Grove.

Qureshi was on her way home after working a shift in the computer lab. She used the emergency phone in the elevator to call police.

“While I was in there, time sort of stopped … I was thinking that if there were a serious problem with the elevator, maybe it could drop or catch fire,” she said. “I dismissed these thoughts quickly, but I was still concerned.”

University Police stayed at the site until Qureshi was freed about 5:30 p.m.

“I really appreciated the way the police kept me calm, but all they could really do was tell me that a repairman was on the way and that he had to travel here from Downers Grove,” she said.

There are no statistics on the number of previous elevator problems on campus. However, vandalism leads to most of the repair calls.

“We only have two elevator mechanics on staff to maintain 80 elevators on campus, and they are on call for emergency situations,” said Ed O’Donnell, assistant to the physical plant director.

O’Donnell said the two mechanics alternate being on call, but only one of them lives in DeKalb. He hopes to add at least one more mechanic within the next few months.

“Since we only have two mechanics on duty, they have a lot of work, and with the possibility of an emergency arising at any time, they can easily get burned out,” he said.

Qureshi believes the current situation isn’t safe.

“I don’t have any kind of disability or physical problem, but I have to wonder what would happen if someone who does have a disability were in the same situation, and what would happen if they were to have a physical problem while trapped in an elevator,” she said.

University Police policy requires someone to stay at the site of a stuck elevator until anyone inside is free.

“In a residence hall, we may have an official at the residence hall take over staying with the subjects, but we make sure that someone is in contact with anyone who is trapped,” said Sgt. David Wickstrom. “If there were a medical emergency, we would contact the fire department and have them physically extract a victim, but because of the high costs involved with an elevator extraction, a repairman will be called in if there is no immediate threat to anyone trapped inside of an elevator.”