Palisades Center Elevator Emergency Phone Test FAIL HD

During this test, the emergency phone autodialers each dialed different phone numbers and no answer or acknowledgement was received after waiting for minutes in two separate cabs. On a third elevator, a person answered "hello?" and acknowledged that they were unable to determine the location of the call unless I provided it. This is a violation of ASME A17.1 which requires that "the emergency intercommunication system shall not require voice communication." Code requires that elevator emergency telephones be monitored 24 hours a day. To comply with ADA requirements, the telephone monitoring service must not require voice communication. This is an important liability issue if the person trapped in the elevator is deaf or unable to communicate their location or the nature of their emergency. The Palisades Center had a similar issue years ago with the emergency call boxes in the parking areas which required mall patrons to press the button, hold the button, and begin speaking in order for their call to be received. Merely pushing the button had no real effect as they were purely an intercom system. This mall has been observed having a myriad of other elevator code violations which I have previously brought to their attention, namely, that the doors to the elevator machine rooms are frequently unlocked. However, frighteningly, my understanding is that there are no requirements for independent elevator inspection in this area, meaning that the elevator contractor certifies that their own work is safe and compliant with applicable codes.