SALT LAKE CITY — Washington resident Alyssa Curran was visiting her daughter who goes to BYU. They stopped at the downtown Salt Lake City Starbucks on their way back to the airport. However, panic set in when Curran went to use the restroom and couldn’t get out.
“It was stuck. It wasn't even like registering. The deadbolt must have gotten loose or something. But no matter what we would try and do, it wasn't catching to open the deadbolt,” Curran said. "I was like, 'Callie, can you try and do the code?' And that didn't work…. I was like, 'You need to go get somebody there, you need to go ask them if they have a key.' And they didn’t.”
Curran said there appeared to be no keyhole from the outside of the restroom, and that the code to get in wasn’t working.
A locksmith came to try to get her out, but after 45 minutes, she wanted to fire department to step in.
“They're yelling at me, like, 'Stand away from the door! Stand in the corner.' Because you can see from the video, there's plenty of sparks. It was super loud,” Curran said.
Fire officials stressed the importance of going into any public space with a phone.
“If you ever catch yourself stuck in any public place, whether it be a public restroom, an elevator, a turnstile or anything like that, the best thing we can advise people to do is call 911, call 911 and try and stay calm. We'll get there, and we'll get you as quick as we can,” said Benjamin Porter, a public information officer for Unified Fire Authority.
Curran said having the phone helped her through the process.
“Thank goodness for FaceTime. I had my phone, and I asked my daughter to FaceTime with me so I could kind of see what was happening on the outside. And that really helped, because the door was so thick you couldn't hear, I couldn't hear the updates. I couldn't hear what was going on,” she said.
Curran said she missed her flight and took the next one that was available, which didn't get her home until after midnight. She says Starbucks gave her $100 in gift cards.
She says she wants to see changes made so this doesn’t happen to someone else in an emergency.
“If it was a kid in there… if I was diabetic, and I needed some food, there was no way to get me food,” Curran said. "It could have been way worse.”
Porter said there are things parents should keep in mind.
“Even in familiar places, it's good to just accompany our children into types of places, into a public restroom and whatnot, make sure that they don't get disoriented or trapped or just stuck,” he said.
FOX 13 reached out to Starbucks to see if any changes have been made since that incident. They said they received the request and are looking into it.
“Since then, every single time I go into an area, I will look to look at the lock to see if there's a keyhole for somebody to be able to come out,” Curran said.
The Salt Lake City Fire Department could not be on camera but released the following statement:
"Ensure that you are taking your cell phone into the bathroom to be able to call for help should you find yourself in this situation. You can also knock on the door loudly to make yourself known. As a business owner, they should ensure they have options for alternate access to any part of the building - including restrooms.”
