Officials Examining Home Elevators After Accident in the Bay

The cargo lift accident that left one man dead and two injured over the weekend is the third lift accident in Hancock County this year. Cargo lifts add convenience for Coast residents with homes on stilts, but after a Bay St. Louis man lost his life over the weekend, officials are now closely examining how safe these home elevators might be.

Dan Redmond, Vice President of Mowrey Elevator, says, “Obviously in this case, you had a fall hazard. The people stepped on the elevator and it had not been properly engineered or built and he paid for it with his life.”

Mowrey Elevator, a company based in Florida that services the Gulf Coast, wants nothing to do with the cargo lifts because of the danger they present. Redmond also says, “Our company won’t go near them. We won’t work on them. We won’t touch them because then you got some liability. They’re completely unregulated and they’re a safety hazard to the public.”

Cargo lifts became more prominent after Hurricane Katrina, when homes in flood zones were required to be elevated, but because the lifts are not meant to transport people, standard elevator laws and regulations don’t apply. City officials are urging people to only use cargo lifts for their intended purposes.

Les Fillingame, Mayor of Bay St. Louis, says, “Be very careful to use lifts of any sort for only what they’re designed to be done. Watch the weight limits, watch the parameters for what you’re to be lifting and not lifting with them. Stay within the confines of that and I think it’ll be safe.”

While there are no clear laws governing their use, city officials are urging residents to play it safe, which could possibly save lives. Bay St. Louis Councilman, Lonnie Falgout was a friend of the man who died in the fall over the weekend and is now pushing for annual inspections of these cargo lifts.