BGS elevator reopens with expired permit and extension from state government agency
The BGS elevator closed on April 7. William Stanley | Lariat
After repeated closures throughout the Spring 2025 semester, the BGS elevator reopened on April 21 with an expired permit and an extension granted from the Department of Industrial Relations.
Following a closure earlier in the year from February 2-5, the BGS elevator opened on April 21 after a closure beginning on April 2. The reopening was signaled by an email from Angel Granados to students and staff, stating that the “BGS elevator has returned to regular working conditions,” urging recipients to “Please proceed to your regularly scheduled classrooms in accordance with your class schedule.”
In an email correspondence with Senior Director of College Facilities Timothy Wooton, he explained that preceding the most recent closure, “the seals for the connection of the hydraulic fluid line failed.” Repairs consisted of the replacement of Victaulic seals and the installment of a relief valve.
According to Wooton, this closure was not connected to any previous closures of the elevator, the one in February preceded by an incident where “the hydraulic cylinder packing leaked in the elevator staff.”
The cost for this most recent repair was “$13,762,” Wooton said.
The BGS elevator closure coincides with a campus-wide period of elevator permit expirations.
Wooton said that the California Department of Industrial Relations “issues the permits and they are back logged about 6 months issuing of permits. The elevators are considered to have valid permits even with expired dates. We just completed our annual elevator service and testing in April 2025 and waiting on DIR to schedule the inspections.”
In an email correspondence with the Santa Ana branch DIR Senior Safety Engineer Don Scott, the BGS elevator was “out of service/down for repairs when we attempted to inspect it in 12/2024.”
“Assuming it is back in service as you have supplied a picture of the permit located in the conveyance,” Scott said, “I have re-assigned this to the inspector and we will have this inspected very soon.”
Wooton confirmed that the college had been granted an extension until an inspection near the end of April. On April 28, the DIR inspected the BGS elevator and it passed inspection. The permit will be mailed per the DIR’s work load.
Concerning the rest of the elevators on campus with expired permits, on April 11, they were inspected and approved by the school’s service vendor for continued use. Later inspections also took place near the end of April.
Clarification from the public records branch of the DIR on who scheduled the reinspection of the BGS elevator, as well as the specifics on the extension Saddleback was extended in face of its expirations, was attempted on April 29.
DIR Public Information Officer Derek Moore responded on May 9 confirming their ongoing research into the public information request, asking for a ten day extension. As of May 19, no further clarifications have been added.
According to Wooton, the next annual inspection from the DIR, for all elevators on campus, will take place in March 2026.
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