Window Cleaners Rescued In Seattle

Window washers rescued from outside 35th floor of Sheraton: Two window washers were rescued from outside the 35th floor of the Sheraton Hotel at Sixth Avenue and Union Street downtown after their platform rigging got snagged. A Seattle Fire spokeswoman said neither man was injured and the platform was secured before firefighters started a rope rescue. The window washers were also secured with harnesses. Firefighters launched their rescue from the roof. Both men were pulled safely to the roof about 12:45 p.m. The two men were in safety harnesses while waiting for rescuers after the rigging on their platform became snagged, said Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen. The rescuers rappelled from the top floor of the 35th story building where they tied to the men and pulled them up to safety.

Two window washers were stuck for about an hour outside the 35th floor outside a downtown Seattle hotel before they were rescued Wednesday afternoon. The washers were trapped on a leaning scaffolding near the top of the Sheraton Hotel in the 1400 block of Sixth Avenue. Firefighters entered the hotel and talked to the window washers at eye level as a technical rescue team geared up and prepared to descend.

Seattle lunch crowds craned their necks to catch the play-by-play of a dramatic rescue 35 stories up in the air. Lights and sirens lured a huge crowd to the scene. Onlookers held their collective breath as the reality drama played out. "I looked up and I saw the window washer basket and I said, 'Oh, my God!'" said Cynthia Repsher.



Seattle Firefighter Aaron Horwitz slid over the side of the roof, lowered into place, then harnessed up with a window washer. "He and I got pulled up together. We transitioned over the edge and walked up the slope above it," said Horwitz. With the job half done, Repsher's concern grew for the guy left behind. "I was excited, but I was so scared for that last guy because I didn't know how long they were up there in that basket, "said Repsher.

Unaware of the angst felt on the street below, Seattle firefighter Mike Todd lowered into place for the second rescue. "We're focused in on making sure that our connections and the connections to the patient are secure, and we're talking on the radio," said Todd. Then, locked in, Todd hauled the second window washer to safety. "All I can say is Thank God. I was so excited but my heart is going a mile a minute. I was so afraid for the two of them, I really was," said Repsher.

The window washers are fine, but did not want to talk about their ordeal. Investigators are determining what caused the problem with the window washers platform.