Power failure hits Marina City

19-Oct-12 – A power failure at Marina City Thursday night left most residents in the dark and one person trapped in an elevator for more than an hour.

Shortly before 9 p.m., electricity went off for about two hours to most residential units in both towers.

Chicago Fire Department personnel were called to free one person trapped in an elevator. According to the Chicago Tribune, an 18-year-old resident, Emily Rabinovich, was uninjured but stuck for about 90 minutes between the lobby and the 10th floor. Fire fighters reportedly took another elevator to the 10th floor, climbed to the elevator Rabinovich was in, placed the woman in a harness, and had her jump over a small gap to safety at about 10:30 p.m.

According to her Facebook page, Rabinovich (left) attends Harold Washington College, studying journalism, creative writing, and Japanese language.

While many residents have been stuck in an elevator at Marina City for as long as an hour or more, this was likely the first rescue of someone from a disabled elevator.

As residents ventured out of their units to compare notes, it became clear that electricity was out to most but not all units. Hallway lights still worked, and the lower commercial level appeared unaffected. While a freight elevator in the east tower still worked, it had no interior lights. Power was out to an intercom system that would have allowed building personnel to update residents.

ComEd workers were summoned to the building. A building employee was told the outtage started with an electrical transformer on Dearborn Street and spread to equipment at Marina City.