Lift motor fire traps five people in Kaunas apartment building

Five people were trapped in a lift at an apartment building in Kaunas on Friday evening after its motor caught fire, LRT and BNS reported, citing the Kaunas Fire Rescue Board.

Emergency services received a call at about 8:20 p.m. reporting that five people were stuck in the lift and that there was a smell of smoke. Firefighters freed them using a crowbar and spreaders.

A conscious underage girl was handed over to paramedics and taken to a medical facility for examination after complaining of a headache.

Smoke was coming from the lift shaft, and firefighters used about 300 litres of water to extinguish the fire. A strong smell of burning was reported on the building’s ninth floor, and the stairwell was ventilated by opening the roof doors.

An emergency lift service determined that the lift motor had burned out. The lift was taken out of service and cordoned off with warning tape.

Jonas Guzavičius, director general of Kauno liftai, told BNS that the lift had been installed with the apartment building more than 40 years ago and had a capacity of 320 kilograms. He said five passengers may have exceeded that limit, causing the lift’s automatic protection system to switch it off.

According to Guzavičius, the lift cabin stopped on the first or second floor, so the motor fire on the ninth floor did not pose a significant danger to the passengers.

The lift’s electrical equipment was affected by water. The company first plans to repair the motor and will replace it if that proves impossible. Guzavičius said the lift should be restored next week, possibly on Monday or Tuesday, and that passengers would not be charged for the work.

Kauno liftai services more than 3,000 lifts, according to the company.