Five Antonia Middle School students got trapped last week in an elevator stuck between floors, and in a separate incident later that same day, a custodian got trapped in the elevator when it got stuck. No one was endangered or injured in either incident, the Antonia Fire Protection District reported.
Antonia Middle Principal Matt Metz said Monday, Jan. 23, that the elevator still was not working, and the school, 6798 St. Luke’s Church Road, in Barnhart is waiting for a part needed to repair it.
Metz said he didn’t know when the part would arrive and when the elevator would be repaired.
He also said he does not know what caused the elevator to twice get stuck between the school’s first and second floors.
Antonia Fire got a call around 11:05 a.m. Jan. 18 about the students getting stuck in the elevator, Deputy Chief Bobby Chrisco said.
He said a teacher used FaceTime to keep in touch with the students until they were freed about a half hour after Antonia firefighters were called to the school.
The firefighters had to manually lower the elevator to the first floor, allowing the students to get off the elevator, the fire district reported.
A technician was called to inspect the elevator and reported that the problem was fixed, Chrisco said.
However, at about 10 p.m. that day, Antonia Fire was called back to the school when a custodian became trapped in the same way. Firefighters again manually lowered the elevator to the first floor to free the custodian, the report said.
It also took firefighters about 30 minutes to free the custodian, according to the report.
“We are very appreciative of our partners at the Antonia Fire Protection District,” Fox C-6 School District officials said. “They gave a very quick response and assistance both times.”