Company & Hospital Fined For Window Washer Death

Company, Hospital Fined For Window Washer Death: A window washing company and Park Nicollet have both been fined in connection with the death of a window washer who died after a three-story fall outside Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park last September. Bryan Prairie, 24, of Plymouth died after the fall on Sept. 2, 2009. Prairie and another co-worker were working near the entrance to the emergency room when they fell. Both Consider It Done Services and Park Nicollet were fined by Minnesota OSHA. Consider It Done was fined $28,750 and Park Nicollet was fined $7,000. Both parties have contested the citation and both cases are open. The next step is Minnesota OSHA will have an informal conference with both parties in hopes of trying to settle the case.

Chris Bemis, owner of CID Services, LLC, the company that was cleaning the windows at the hospital issued the following statement from the company after the incident:
"The young man who passed came to our company this year as a friend of many of the guys on our team. He was working with us while he looked for a job as a nurse. We were afforded a great opportunity to have him be a part of our little family, and we are heartbroken that he is gone. He has a wife and a young son, and our deepest sympathies are with his family now and in the future.
My business partner and friend is lying in a hospital bed, being treated for his injuries. He has always maintained a wonderful sense of kindness and love to all those who have had the opportunity to cross his path, especially his friends. And the young man who has passed was his friend. We know that even during his own recovery, our partner is grieving this tragic loss.
I would finally like to personally thank the staff at Park Nicollet for the part they played In bringing so much compassion and understanding to such a dark day in the lives of so many. It was a touching display of humanity that will stay with us forever. I am particularly grateful for the genuine caring they have shown for the families of those impacted by these tragic events. It is a credit to them as a group and as individuals."

Bryan Prairie (pictured) took the window-washing job to support his family, his father said. The window washer who fell three stories to his death at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park had taken the job this summer while looking for work as a nurse, his father said Friday. Bryan Prairie, 24, of Plymouth, was dead by the time rescue personnel arrived after he and a co-worker fell from scaffolding along the 40-foot-tall building about 3 p.m. Thursday. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office has not released the man's name, but Bill Prairie confirmed Friday that the dead man was his son.
Prairie was working for Consider It Done Cleaning to support his wife and 5-month-old son, his father said. The young man, who graduated from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., had just passed his nursing boards in July after earning degrees in biology and nursing. The other man who fell was alert and talking soon after the accident, and was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.