A harrowing experience like that of a three-year-old girl at the St. Clair West subway station Monday can usually be avoided by showing care when at the bottom or top of an escalator. This is where the steps disappear and loop back under the mechanism. They pass through the teeth of a finely-calibrated guard called a comb. It is closely machined but it isn’t perfect. You can see what they look like in the photos. The damaged shoe shown in the upper photo was caught when it slammed into a comb. If the rider had stepped over the comb, as is advised, the accident would not have happened. Low-hanging clothing is a peril as well. This appears to be how a Montreal woman died last year. It began when the fringe of her long-hanging scarf slipped into the comb. Children don’t know any better and must be watched. They frequently sit down on the lifts, creating a lot of opportunity for clothing to be trapped. Pictures taken by Arda Zakarian of CP24 show the site of the child’s entrapment at the St.Clair West station. There is a lot of chewed up and damaged clothing but it had to start with one little piece. The CBC report says the child was sitting on the steps and her sleeves finally slipped into the comb at the bottom. Earlier reports said the little girl’s hand had been trapped but this was not the case. An alert citizen turned off the escalator and for that act deserves recognition.
