Window Washer With Chest Pains In Milwaukee Rescue

Man rescued from outside NWML building: A man was rescued Tuesday afternoon from the fifth floor of the  Northwestern Mutual Life building at North Marshall and East Wells streets in Milwaukee. WISN 12 News learned the man, possibly a window washer, was working on scaffolding outside the building when he suffered some type of chest pain. The man also had chemicals with him on the scaffolding. "Our Heavy Urban Rescue Team came in they were able to put the individual in a stokes basket and do a lowering situation for him, to the roof, and we were able to get him on a cot and out of here and get him transported to the hospital," Milwaukee Fire Department Battalion Chief Christopher Snyder said.

"It scares me.  I'm afraid of heights, so when I just hear about it. It gives me the shakes," North western Mutual Life employee Sara Lewkowski said. Lewkowski and her friend Robin Sorensen were inside the building at work. They first heard about out it on the Northwestern Mutual website. "I had walked up stairs, and I saw fire trucks and police officers, and then, I went online and they had already had it covered saying that one to the workers was feeling some pain, and they called it in right away," Lewkowski said.

Northwestern Mutual actually has a plan in place to handle such emergencies. Firefighters are giving the company high praise for that. "They had people are the door bringing us in in stages as we arrived and taking us up there, and they had a medical staff up there and nurses with the individual until our paramedics got there," Snyder said. News Chopper 12's Matt Salemme said there were 35 mph sustained winds in the area when he approached. 

Window washer with chest pains rescued in downtown Milwaukee: A deputy fire chief says that Milwaukee Fire crews rescued a worker who was washing windows in a downtown Milwaukee building when he suffered chest pains. The incident happened at about 12:00 p.m. at a downtown office tower on the 700 block of North Marshall Street. The tower is part of the Northwestern Mutual complex. "We had a worker that was working on scaffolding about five stories up, experiencing chest pain," said MFD Deputy Chief Randall Zingler. He explained that Heavy Urban Response Team members gave the man assistance while on the scaffolding.   Paramedics transported him to a local hospital.

Window Cleaners In The News

Tulsa World: Had some time between assignments today so I hit the road with my camera. The weather is so nice, it is hard to decide what to shoot. There is so much going on outside. People everywhere. And finally, I almost can't resist sooting window washers. I can try to walk on by but something always catches my eye. This time it was the guy standing above.

SEATTLE -- A Seattle window washer fighting prostate cancer says he feels like his insurance company is killing him. Bob Haller wants the latest non-invasive alternative to surgery called the Cyberknife treatment, but he says his insurance company won't cover it. At Swedish Medical Center, Haller admits he's playing a game of chance. An annual checkup found prostate cancer last November. "We are concerned the longer we wait, the higher this malignancy could spread," said Swedish Radiosurgery Medical Director Dr. Robert Meier. Haller is putting off treatment in hopes of forcing his health insurance to pay for the cutting-edge procedure. It's medical Russian roulette. "If it's not treated, unfortunately, it will lead to your demise, I'm afraid," Meier told Haller. For nearly a year, Haller has begged Regence Blueshield, the administrator of his universal medical plan, to pay for Cyberknife treatment. It's an alternative to surgery that beams high doses of radiation to cancer tumors with near-exacting precision. "One way or another, I've got to get it," said Haller.

Meier says surgery has more risks, including urinary and bowel problems, even impotence. Haller says five painless Cyberknife treatments would cure his cancer, and insists as a window washer who often dangles from buildings, he can't risk bladder issues. "Not only for me, but Regence denying a lot of us guys this particular option is just incredible," Haller said. In a statement, Regence Blueshield says it considers the Cyberknife "investigational" treatment, and as a matter of policy denies investigational procedures. Regence adds Haller has lost all appeals including an independent review. "It was investigational, but I would argue in the last six months, significant medical literature has been published to move it into the standard of care realm," said Meier. "It means my life," Haller said. Haller says he hopes media attention will lead to changes. In the meantime, he's been told he's exhausted all his appeals, and he can take the issue to court.

Andy Shankland once shared the same footballing dreams as England internationals Steve Bould and Paul Bracewell ... but his current ambition is simply to be able to walk again. Being told as a promising 22-year-old striker that his football career was over was bad enough. But being advised later that it would be better to have the lower part of his left leg amputated is the stuff of nightmares. With remarkable understatement Shankland tells his story marooned on a sofa in his modest semi-detached house a million miles away from the lifestyle of today’s highly-paid stars. Life has never been easy for Andy. He was nine when his father died, two years later he lost his mother and he was brought up by his auntie. His brother was later killed in a car crash. “I’ve had a few knocks in my life,” he says without a hint of bitterness, just grateful that football has at last recognised the 47-year-old’s plight and is rallying around to raise money for a prosthetic limb which would transform his life.

“Things were going well until I damaged ligaments in my right ankle in a collision with a keeper. “There was injury after injury once I got back into the team and a couple of consultants believed I was finished. But another operated on me and I didn’t play for about 16 months. Coming back in a pre-season game I got injured again. That was it, I was finished at the age of 22. “You don’t always appreciate what you’ve got as a footballer because you live in a bubble. I’d just bought the house and my wife Angela was pregnant. I couldn’t even play football part-time because my ankle was no good. “I had to get a job, any job, just to bring in some money. I had a few jobs before I went into window cleaning with a lad I knew.”

Eight years ago disaster struck. “I was cleaning some top windows, the ladder slipped and I landed on my left ankle – my good one, not the one that had finished my football career,” recalls Andy. “It was broken and I had it pinned. When I later went back to see the consultant there was no life in it.” Intensive physiotherapy and other treatment failed to do the trick. Shankland spent three years on crutches desperately hoping for a breakthrough before his life changed forever. “I’ll never forget the date, March 13, 2006,” he said. “A consultant recommended that I should have my left leg amputated just below the knee. I agreed. I just said ‘get it off’.”

MILWAUKEE -- Window washing at the Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Medical Center Wednesday morning caused a big scare and an evacuation. Workers were power washing the east side of the building when fumes from their machine seeped into the exhaust system. The chemical levels tripped an alarm, calling the Milwaukee Fire Department's hazmat team. About 10 employees were evacuated from the sterilization department. No patients had to leave. A spokesman from the VA said after about an hour it was safe for everyone to go back in. "Obviously, we have to take every safety measure possible, and we took it very seriously, and as soon as that alarm sensor was tripped, we contacted the fire department, and they were great coming out immediately," said Gary Kunich of the Milwaukee VA Medical Center. Hospital staff said the window washers were private contractors.

Distraction burglars chased off by window cleaner while trying to steal from pensioner: A window cleaner chased three men who tried to burgle an elderly householder. Three men knocked on the door of a property in Frontfield Crescent at 11.55am on Saturday. While one spoke to the householder, two others went upstairs and rifled through the property. The offenders were disturbed by another visitor to the address, made off, and were pursued by a window cleaner who was working in the area. The three men are described as: A suntanned male 18-23 years, unshaven with jet black hair. A white male 18-23 years wearing a sky blue coloured jumper. A white male 30 years, 5'8" tall, medium build, short cut dark coloured hair, wearing a checked shirt & black trousers. Although this is believed to be a one off incident, residents in the area are asked to be extra vigilant when dealing with cold callers. If anyone has any information in relation to this incident they are asked to phone the police on the non emergency number 101 and quote crime number EL/11/4546.

Residents ‘fed up’ with car vandals: Residents are furious someone is sneaking out in the dead of night and daubing paint stripper on their cars. Mount Pleasant resident John Riglar said as soon as cars were fixed, they were vandalised again in the same spot. The 38-year-old says the problem has now been going on for 18 months, with more than a dozen vehicles targeted. The latest were vandalised in the early hours of Sunday and again on Tuesday, with hundreds of pounds worth of damage caused.

Mr Riglar, a window cleaner who has an Alpha Romeo and a work’s vehicle, said: “It’s the same every time. They use a paintbrush to put paint stripper on the car. You don’t have to be a detective to work out that they live nearby. One woman had to pay out £1,400 to get the car fixed and then it was done again in exactly the same place. “I came in about 3am on Sunday and the car was fine but when I went out again later, it had been vandalised again. Luckily, because it was raining, it didn’t cause too much damage as it was washed off. We’re basically all fed up with it. “They must live on the street because they are walking around with a tin and a paintbrush.”

More than 17,500 wrong parking tickets issued in Brighton and Hove: Disabled motorists, window cleaners and 999 workers are among thousands of people to have been wrongly issued parking tickets. Brighton and Hove City Council has confirmed nearly 17,500 fines were dished out but later cancelled in the last financial year. The amount, which works out at 48 a day, accounts for about 16% of the 109,000 tickets issued by the council’s 74 civil enforcement officers Council bosses said it showed they were acting fairly when dealing with appeals.

Of the 17,448 cancelled penalty notices issued, more than 4,000 had a valid pay and display tickets. A further 1,000 had a visitor permit and 665 a disabled badge. More than 1,000 were issued to vehicles that drove away and 665 to cars with valid disabled badges. A further 1,765 were issued to vehicles that were unloading, 465 to broken down cars while about 80 were dropping off people. Window cleaners (40), emergency vehicles (33) and stolen vehicles (99) were among those exempt groups to have also been slapped with notices.

Clerical errors were also to blame with more than 400 issued wrongly by wardens, 90 not having enough evidence and 100 not processed properly due to “back office” mistakes. A council spokeswoman said: “The appeals process exists so that the council can take all information into account when deciding whether a penalty charge notice is payable. “We are always looking for ways to reduce cancellations.”

How to get ahead in estates management: Debbie Andalo describes the routes into housing management, whether through an apprenticeship or leadership and management training. René, who began her housing career 15 years ago as a temporary administrative assistant for a homeless men's hostel, says: "I want people to feel that they can walk out of their front door and feel unthreatened, that they can let their children play safely outside and where anti-social behaviour doesn't make them feel uncomfortable. My staff are responsible for making sure that the streets are clean and safe for residents and I make sure that happens."

René, who earns £43,000 a year, is responsible for a team of 44, mostly blue-collar staff, including 32 caretakers whom she describes as the "eyes and the ears" of the estate. Between them the team looks after 4,300 homes in Tower Hamlets and Essex. René manages all the services behind the estates' appearances such as the mobile deep-cleaning teams, window cleaning contractors, bulk refuse collections as well as seasonal services such as leaf cleaning and gritting. She is one of few women working in social housing in estate services management and admits it can sometimes be difficult in a male-dominated environment.

The Windows That Couldn't Be Washed Are Getting A Clean

The curved bank of windows on the front of the Dane County Courthouse has not been cleaned since the building opened in 2006. The county has decided they will be cleaned by a Milwaukee contractor.

Remember this? The Windows That Can't Be Washed.

After five years, filthy courthouse windows to get a wash: More than five years after they were installed, the curved bank of windows on the front of the Dane County Courthouse will get their first cleaning. And it couldn’t come a moment too soon. The windows, now opaque due to dust, grime, bird droppings, cobwebs and other filth, have proven difficult to clean in lean budget times but will finally be washed by a Milwaukee window cleaning contractor, said Dane County Director of Administration Travis Myren.

Because of the design of the courthouse, the windows can’t be reached using a standard window cleaner’s platform. Myren said he doesn’t know when the cleaning will happen, but it will probably be on a Sunday because a boom truck will likely have to be parked in front of the courthouse on South Hamilton Street, blocking some traffic. The contractor, Al’s Window Cleaning, will be paid $3,600 to clean the windows. Myren said the money comes from putting off cleaning other county windows.

District Court Administrator Gail Richardson contained her delight about the upcoming cleaning. “Yes, I’m very pleased to know that the Department of Administration has found a contractor who can and will clean the front windows,” Richardson said. But as to whether the next cleaning will take another five years, Myren wouldn’t make predictions. “Unfortunately I don’t know what the budgets are going to look like next year or the following year,” Myren said. “We’re limited to providing cleaning projects with the funds we have available.”

Two years a go when they needed cleaning then. Spot the difference.

Window Washer Survives 6-story Fall

Window washer survives 6-story fall from Eau Claire bank/MILWAUKEE: A window washer survived a six-story fall from an Eau Claire bank building with one thought in mind - when was his safety rope going to catch? It never did. "I kept falling," 21-year-old Alex Clay said in a phone interview from Luther Hospital in Eau Claire Tuesday night. "It all happened so fast. I kept waiting. When's it going to catch? "There's a little roof over the entryway. I bounced off of that and then hit the pavement."

Authorities in Eau Claire, located in west central Wisconsin about 70 miles east of Minneapolis, St. Paul, said equipment apparently helped break the man's fall from the U.S. Bank building just after 3 p.m. Tuesday. But Clay said it didn't slow him down much. Still, he said doctors determined his main injury was a shattered bone on the arch side of his left foot. He said he also had six staples in his leg because he cut it on something as he fell. "I remember the entire fall all the way down," he said. He said the problem developed when he noticed a clip on his gear for rappelling wasn't fastened. "But I was trying not to panic because I had my safety line connected on the back of my harness," he said. A maintenance man and his co-worker tried to pull him back up, but he was too sweaty and tired to make it, he said. "I was hanging on for dear life at that time, even though I had the safety line on." That's when he let go.
Clay said police took the equipment he was using to inspect it. He said he had worked for Bob Smith Window Cleaning about four months. He doesn't plan on working on high buildings again, at least not for a long time. His mother, Susan Frederick, said she'll object if he tries. "It's just so amazing - and then to find out that he's going to be OK is just so fantastic," she said from the hospital. She said they wouldn't know until Wednesday when he will be released.

Name of window washer who fell six stories released: A 21-year-old window washer fell six stories Tuesday afternoon while working at U.S. Bank at 131 Barstow St., landing on the sidewalk. Authorities were notified of the fall at 3:13 p.m. Alexander Clay was transported to Luther Hospital. His equipment apparently helped break his fall, and his injuries were not believed to be life threatening, authorities said. Clay works for Bob Smith Window Cleaning. The Eau Claire Police Department is investigating the incident.

Squeegee Trade Just Scraping By?

Clean windows are 1st sacrifice in recession, washers report: Yet another axiom of the recession: Economy down, window smudges up. Just ask Erwin Mielke. "Ugly," the owner of Clear-Vu Window Cleaning Inc. said when asked to describe the state of his commercial accounts. "I've probably lost a third of my business already. That's just one of the first things they cut is (they decide) they can look through dirty windows." Some window cleaning firms say their business has been affected only slightly, or not at all. "I'm actually hiring," said Ben Boswell, operations manager for one of the area's larger companies, Al's Window Cleaning & Building Services. But others, like Clear-Vu, have seen at least a downtick.
"Everything's down," said Jason Vance, owner of Window Brothers Inc., New Berlin. "Our accounts are either cutting back or cutting off." In the last few weeks Vance has seen revenue drop 10% to 20%. Clear-Vu, of West Allis, is off more than one-fourth from last year. Tony Dawkins, owner of a one-man Milwaukee operation called Squeegee Wonders, said some regular customers are now waiting until their windows are "super dirty" before they call. "I have to charge them more because I have to work harder," he said.
What seems to have been hit hardest are jobs at first-story shops and offices, and other low-elevation work. Some businesses are picking up buckets and squeegees, or even paper towels and Windex, and tackling the job themselves. "In the summer they're probably going to be able to muddle through, but in winter it's not going to happen," Mielke said. He said restaurants in particular have cut back on professional window cleaning. "They're saying they don't have any business," Mielke said.
Clear-Vu has reduced its staff from 18 to 16, cut benefits and frozen pay. Until last fall the firm had cleaners working seven days a week. "Now we don't even work very many Saturdays," Mielke said. Commercial customers, meanwhile, are pushing for lower rates. And in a business that has, as economists say, low barriers to entry, some cleaners are willing to accommodate them. "I've got competitors who are really hungry out there and just doing the job for nothing," Mielke said. "So that hurts." Vance, who described his own pricing as "kind of more competitive than I'd like to be," has been stung, too.
"I just got off the phone with a customer (who) told me they just had a competitor come by and undercut me with the price," he said. In another pattern characteristic of uncertain economic times, prospective customers seem to be husbanding cash and waiting until the last minute to decide to have work done, Vance said. Still, the constantly replenished supply of grimy glass offers hope. "There are always dirty windows," Vance said.

Pictured: Jerry Kritz, an employee of Clear-Vu Window Cleaning, wipes down a window at a business on W. Boden St. Clear-Vu owner Erwin Mielke says the window-washing business has suffered as the recession has deepened, inducing business operators to put up with grimy glass.

Window Cleaning Wars + A Lucky Escape

Man charged with shooting out competitor's window: The owner of a Madison window cleaning business was charged Thursday with shooting out the window of a competitor he thought was trying to steal a client. Paul R. Obbink, 45, owner of Bink’s Window Cleaning, is charged with discharging a firearm from a vehicle, a felony. According to a criminal complaint, Obbink admitted to police that on Jan. 23, he used a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with birdshot to shoot out the window of Madison Window Cleaning, 210 Dickinson St.
The complaint also states Obbink told police that one of his clients had been contacted by another window cleaning company in an attempt to take over the account, and that a Madison Window Cleaning vehicle had reportedly been seen near that business around the same time.
Obbink told police he mistakenly assumed Madison Window Cleaning was trying to steal business from him and first called the business and left a message. He said he then drove to the business, climbed into the passenger seat of his truck and fired the shotgun at the window.
"I shouldn’t have done that," Obbinki told police. "Rage sort of took over." He told police he believed the business was closed at the time and that no one was inside, saying, "I did not go there to hurt anyone." Kash Weger, who owns Madison Window Cleaning with his wife, Tanya, said no one was in the building at the time. Weger said his business did not attempt to take Obbink’s client, and the vehicle reportedly seen near the client’s business was not theirs.

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Window washer falls four stories, survives: A window washer on Milwaukee's east side tumbled four stories to the pavement Thursday morning and survived. The man was washing windows outside an apartment building in the 1900 block of N. Water St. around 9:30 a.m. when he plunged to the sidewalk. He was wearing a harness and working with another window washer when he fell. "It looked like he was one lucky guy," said Milwaukee Fire Lt. Randy Leach. The man remained conscious and was taken to Froedtert Hospital for non life-threatening injuries.