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The elevator car "was stuck near the ground floor and the doors wouldn't open" for the youngsters, ages 10 to 14, who'd gone to the Rockin' Jump around 5 p.m. Friday, April 15, Police Detective Capt. Dan Daly said.
"A technician was called and attempted to operate the elevator from a control panel without success," Daly said.
The kids had been stranded nearly an hour when the Wayne Fire Department's Special Response Team took over, led by Fire Company No. 2 Chief Paul Gleba and Company No. 1 Chief Greg Laskowski.
The elevator was about 25 feet below the upper-floor rescuers who conducted the perilous high-angle rescue.
Michael Leonard and Anthony Gabriel "descended the elevator shaft to the hatch on the elevator car," Daly said. "They systematically rescued each juvenile one at a time by rigging them to a line in a harness and hoisting them up."
In all, it was nearly 2½ hours from when the elector got stuck to when the last child was rescued.
Members of the Wayne First Aid Squad checked out each teen and determined that none needed medical attention, Daly said. They were all then picked up by relieved parents and guardians, he said.
The captain called the rescue "an effective and professional operation resulting in the safe rescue of multiple children."
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