Georgia Dealing With Elevator Inspection Backlog

The state of Georgia is adding six new elevator inspectors to its staff on July 1 as it continues to deal with a backlog of units past their inspections, WTOC reports. Focusing on its Savannah, Georgia, market, WTOC said there are nearly 600 elevators in Savannah’s Chatham County that are behind on inspections. The state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance said Savannah reflects a larger, statewide issue: There are approximately 33,000 elevators in the state with 32 inspectors inspecting up to eight units per day. Since many of these inspectors also handle boiler, pressure vessel and amusement ride inspections, backlog is inevitable. Currently, one out of three elevators statewide are behind on their inspections. A spokesman for International Association of Firefighters Local 574 in Savannah said many of the elevator issues firefighters respond to are due to overcrowding rather than faulty equipment, adding that they responded to more than 90 elevator rescue calls in Savannah in 2025.