3 rescued after electrical fire trapped them in Penobscot building elevator

3 women rescued after getting stuck in Penobscot building elevator

Three women on their way to work got stuck in an elevator at the Penobscot building for more than an hour.

DETROIT - Three people were rescued after getting trapped inside an elevator at the Penobscot building in Detroit on Wednesday morning.

Kim Ernst, her 87-year-old mother Nancy Norton, and another woman were on their way to work when the elevator stopped working between the 28th and the 29th floor. An electrical fire in the basement of the building caused the elevators to stop.

"And then we started smelling smoke, and then the elevator started filling with smoke, so we all just sat down on the floor. We tried to calm each other down," Ernst said.

The women were stuck for more than an hour.

Nancy Norton and Kim Ernst

Maintenance was able to get a ladder into the elevator, and the women were able to climb the ladder, then they took the stairs to the 13th floor, where an elevator was working.

"Well, I'm very happy to be out of there," Ernst said.

Ernest said the elevator breaks down all the time.o

Fox 2 called the management company, Triple Properties, but there was no response. Reporters were at the building in February after tenants were angry over multiple blight violations.

Read: Historic Penobscot building racks up blight violations while tenants are livid