Window Washer Rescue In Downtown Vegas Underway

A window washer was reportedly in distress when calls to LVFR were made on Monday. Click to enlarge.

Window washer rescue in downtown Vegas underway: LAS VEGAS (FOX5) - Emergency crews were sent to a high-rise in downtown Las Vegas Monday on reports of a window washer in distress. According to Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, the worker was working aloft on the side of a high-rise building at 330 Lewis Ave., across from the Clark County Courthouse, when his equipment failed. First calls of the situation to LVFR were reported just after 10:30 a.m. LVFR said they were attempting to help the worker down from the building's eighth floor with the use of a ladder. Authorities don't believe the person in distress was injured during his ordeal.

The window washer became stuck while working on the windows of a building at 330 Lewis Ave., across from the Clark County Courthouse. Click to enlarge.

Firefighters attempting to rescue stranded window washer: Fire officials are attempting to rescue a stranded window washer trapped on the side of a building in downtown Las Vegas. The man got trapped when the window washing platform mechanism broke, leaving him stranded between the eighth and ninth floors around 11 a.m. Monday in the 300 block of Lewis Avenue, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said. Firefighters are attempting to pull the man up from the roof of the building after an attempt to use a ladder fell short, he said. The man is uninjured and is on the shaded side of the building, Szymanski said.

Window washer knocks on window to ask for rescue. The window washer’s machine that lifts him became stuck and he knocked on a window, asking the person indoors to call the fire department, said Timothy Szymanski, a spokesman for the fire department. The window washer, a man working at 330 S. Third St., was brought to safety by a female firefighter, fire officials said.

Firefighters rescue downtown Vegas window washer: A 48-year-old window washer was rescued safely after his tether malfunctioned outside a downtown Las Vegas office building. Alex Ramos said he was suspended for more than two hours before rescuers lowered him by ropes to the sidewalk about noon Monday. He told reporters he never panicked when his gear malfunctioned at the eighth floor. He just knocked on a window. An office worker dialed 911 about 10:35 a.m.

Ramos says he was surprised by the number of firefighters who arrived with a 100-foot ladder truck and several other engines at the building near the Regional Justice Center. The bucket only reached the seventh floor. Ramos works for N&R Cleaning. He's been doing the job for eight years. He calmly snapped cellphone photos as firefighters reached him for the rescue.

Alex Ramos said he was suspended for more than two hours before rescuers lowered him by ropes to the sidewalk about noon Monday.

Details surrounding downtown window washer rescue: Action News cameras captured a dramatic rescue as a window washer finds himself stuck, dangling several stories from a downtown Las Vegas high-rise. Window washer Alex Ramos was near the top of the building just across from the Regional Justice Center when his equipment malfunctioned. Rescuers stood on a platform at the end of a ladder as it extended up the building and toward Ramos, coming within just few feet, but still more than an arm’s length away. Plans quickly shifted, and firefighter Mari Bussio had to be lowered down from the top of the building to get to him. Dozens of onlookers watched as Ramos maneuvered the ropes, successfully attaching him to Bussio.

Ramos, who's been washing windows for 8 years, remained calm as they rappelled down the side of building. The two were greeted by paramedics the moment their feet touched the ground, and just moments later Ramos was off again, seemingly unphased by the entire ordeal, and on to his next window washing job. The entire rescue took about an hour from start to finish. Ramos said he's planning on going back to the store where he bought his equipment to ask for a refund.