MASSACHUSETTS ESCALATORS UNSAFE AND UNINSPECTED. WHY?

Three quarters of the escalators in Massachusetts shopping malls have gone uninspected in the last three years, according to a Boston Globe review of state records. How could this happen and why does it take news organizations to figure it out? The Globe’s review found that only 44 of 188 had received inspections eash year AS REQUIRED BY LAW. Last year, a 4-year-old boy Mark DiBona died on an escalator in a Sears department store at the Auburn Mall. He slipped through an uncovered 6-inch-wide gap between the handrail at the top of a second floor escalator and a plexiglass barrier. The gap was wider than the codes permit and had no safety guard. He was apparently pulled through the gap after grabbing the handrail and fell onto a display case a floor below. The inspections are supposed to be done by employees of the Department of Public Safety which regulates elevators and escalators. Thomas Gatzunis public safety commissioner says that most escalators are in good condition. A read of the real facts in this superb Globe investigation shows that most escalators are not safe as stated by the Commissioner. It is not clear as this time as to whether the Governor has decided to replace Commissioner Gatzunis. That question should be put to the Governor before another child gets killed.