Monday 6 February 2012

Poor Knot Tying Blamed For Window Cleaners Fall

VERY LUCKY: The man, put in a neck brace on a rigid stretcher, was later found to have only minor injuries.
Poor knot tying blamed for cleaner's fall: A window cleaner who fell five storeys was to blame for his fall, a Labour Department investigation has found. The man had been cleaning windows five floors up on Mayfair House in central Wellington in July last year when his rope failed and he fell on to a parked car below. He was taken to Wellington Hospital but found to have only a dislocated toe.

The Window Cleaning Contractors worker had completed his training and certification late in May. The descent was his third of the day. "The victim had attached a rope guard on the main rope but the knot was very rudimentary," the investigation found. Also, he had attached a short lanyard to his emergency rope shunt. The investigation found the climber's inexperience had contributed to the accident, as had a lack of knot-tying ability.

The news as it broke last year... (Previous related blog here & here).

EMERGENCY SCENE: The scene of the fall, from approximately five storeys up.
Abseiling window cleaner hurt in fall: A parked car broke the fall of an abseiling window cleaner who fell several stories from a building on the Terrace in Central Wellington today. The man, in his 30s, fell from approximately the 5th floor of a high rise office building from the rope where he was working at 12.18pm. He landed in Bolton St, adjacent to The Terrace. He received emergency treatment at the scene and was transferred to Wellington Hospital with leg and lower back injuries. Wellington Free Ambulance Team Manager Kate Worthington said the incident could have been much more serious if the man's fall was not broken by the parked car. "He is very lucky indeed." A police cordon around the area has now been lifted. Another workman was at the scene but was not injured.

FALL: Emergency services attending an incident on Bolton St in central Wellington, where it appears an abseiling cleaner has been injured.

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