Firehouse Expo Instructor Saves Wife

July 23, 2010
When Tony Tricarico got the call Thursday morning from his wife telling him she was trapped in a hotel elevator, he thought it was a joke.
BALTIMORE, Md. -- When Tony Tricarico got the call Thursday morning from his wife telling him she was trapped in a hotel elevator, he thought it was a joke.

"Yeah, right, I told her. That's not funny. I really thought she was pulling my chain. That's my class tomorrow -- elevator emergencies."

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Tricarico, a retired FDNY captain who is teaching a class on elevator rescues Friday morning at Firehouse Expo, quickly realized his wife Janet really was stuck in one at the Days Inn, a few blocks from the Baltimore Convention Center.

"When I asked if she had pulled the alarm, she said it would make to much noise," he said laughing.

Tricarico figured he'd have to handle it himself.

"The people at the front desk knew there was someone trapped in the elevator between the fifth and sixth floors, but didn't have a key. So, I jumped in an adjoining elevator and yelled at a guy with a mop and a bucket to come with me."

When he got to the sixth floor, Tricarico took the mop and used it to pry open the door.

Just a few feet below, he could see his wife and their dog. He climbed down, and handed them up to a firefighter.

"Hey, this is what we do. I don't know who the guy was. He's probably here attending the Expo."

Tricarico added that he'll share the story Friday morning during his class during which he will discuss terminology as well as elevator construction and operations.

"Who would have believed this?"

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