High Rise Window Cleaning - Twin Cities Investigation

Green Window Cleaning Services owner Jeff Scott and reporter Trish Van Pilsum descend a 15-story condo building in Madison, Wisconsin.

Investigators: A Window Washer's World: The center of the city shines only because there are a few workers who will brave any height to keep it that way. There are only about 100 high rise window washers in the Twin Cities area, but four have died since 2007. Julie Jennings' son, Jake, is one of those who died in March of 2009. He was working at the Normandale Lakes Office Park in Bloomington and fell after the line tying him to the building he was cleaning slipped from its anchor. Julie feels that her son should have been better trained. She fears for other window washers who are just starting their careers and doesn't want any other famliy to go through what she has in the last two years. " It is the worst thing in the world. I will never get over it," said Julie.

The other 3 fatal accidents:

• Dec. 2007: Fidel Sanchez-Flores fell to his death while cleaning ice from the top of the IDS Crystal Court in Minneapolis.
• Sept. 2009: Bryan Prairie, 24, fell from a roof at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park.
• June 2011: Ryan Shannon, 25, died after falling from Knollwood Place Apartments in St. Louis Park.

"A hundred people and four deaths in four years -- it is an insane number," said Javier Morillo-Alicea, President of SEIU Local 26. "If you applied that to any other industry it would be a scandal." Minnesota OSHA increased the number of inspections on Oct. 1, 2010 due to the deaths. The checks have turned up potentially deadly hazards including:

• Tie backs not being securely fastened to outrigger beams
• Inadequate anchorage systems
• Counterweights not of sufficeient weight
• Washer not protected by a safety belt.

Window Washer Safety Culture in Twin Cities: According to the International Window Cleaning Association, Minnesota has had the highest rate of window washing accidents in the United States since 2007. This fall, the IWCA came to the Twin Cities, hoping to educate fellow washers on safety issues -- but the safety conference was poorly attended. The FOX 9 Investigators called several of the companies that didn't show up. They said they either didn't know about it or were too busy to attend. When asked about training, several window washers told the FOX 9 Investigators they were either trained for only a short amount of time or just had on-the-job training when they began their careers.

Going Over the Wall: FOX 9 Investigator, Trish Van Pilsum wanted to draw attention to the issue of safety, so she found out what it is like to go over the wall -- the parapet wall that is. Jeff Scott, owner of Green Window Cleaning in Madison, Wis., agreed to help Trish experience what window washers go through on a daily basis. He did not train her as he would the cleaners that work for him because that would have taken months of lessons and testing. Instead, he prepared her to repel down the side of a 15-story building in Madison with no cleaning duties. No safety measure was spared. She used a bosun's chair, work line and safety line.

Window washers say the set up for equipment on top of the 31-story Ameriprise Financial Center in downtown Minneapolis is one of the best in Twin Cities.

There are several I-bolt anchors atop the 31-story Ameriprise Financial Center in Minneapolis for window washers to attach their lifelines and work lines.

Two window washers descend down the Federal Bank Reserve in Minneapolis.

Jake Jennings died two years ago in Bloomington after falling from a building where he was washing windows. His mother (pictured with him here) wants to see changes that make window washing jobs safer for all workers. There are been a total of four window washer fatalities since 2007 in the Twin Cities.

There are an estimated 100 high-rise window cleaners in the Twin Cities. They make between $14/hour to $21/hour on average.

Washers in Minneapolis use a suspended scaffold --also known as a swing stage -- to clean windows.

Tony Gesino has been washing windows for the last 8 years.

Window cleaning professional Jeff Scott explains the lifeline and work lines reporter Trish Van Pilsum will be using to scale down a 15-story condo building in Madison, Wis.

R.I.P. Ryan Shannon

A window washer by day, but a musician at heart: Ryan Shannon's family hopes he's remembered for so much more than the window-washing accident that took his life at 25. Bob Shannon wants his son remembered as much more than a window washer killed in a tragic accident.

Ryan J. Shannon, 25, of Roseville, was identified Sunday as the man who died Friday when he fell from the roof of a St. Louis Park apartment building, where he was working with a window-washing crew. Shannon's energy and passion for music were his defining traits, his father said Sunday. He recalled what happened when the family bought Ryan an electric guitar when he was 12. "A big light went on," he said. Ryan learned to play it, along with drums, banjo and piano.

Ryan Shannon grew up in Roseville and graduated from Roseville Area High School in 2004. He'd recently earned a two-year degree/certification from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In addition to working as a window washer, he was an admissions counselor for Record Now, a recording arts school in Falcon Heights. Shannon's latest project was a band formed with friends last year called the Wize Bison.

"To all Wize Bison friends, thank you so much for supporting us and rocking out at our shows. It made Ryan so happy to look down at the crowd and see people enjoying our music. He was the energy behind Wize Bison and this band wouldn't have existed without him. He will never be forgotten, please keep his family in your prayers and Ryan in your memories."

His older brother, Bobby Shannon (2nd from left), lead singer for Wize Bison, said the band mostly did rock covers, but Ryan (2nd from right) had started to write original songs. "He was a big rocker -- he had so much energy, so much spirit," his brother said. Both as a child and an adult, Ryan Shannon also loved to play soccer, his family said. To earn extra money, he'd been cleaning windows with the Squeegee Squad for about a year, his father said, adding, "Window washing was just something that he did to make a few bucks in between his music."

At 2 p.m. Friday, Ryan fell from the roof of the eight-story Knollwood Place Apartments in St. Louis Park. The Hennepin County medical examiner ruled his death an accident. An investigation continues. Joe Antonello (pictured), owner of Twin Cities Squeegee Squad franchises, said in an e-mail Sunday, "We are deeply saddened by Friday's tragic accident," calling Shannon a "highly esteemed" employee.

Services are tentatively set for 10 a.m. Thursday at St. John's Church of Little Canada, with visitation to be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Roseville Memorial Chapel. Shannon is not the only Twin Cities area resident to die in such an accident in recent times. In September 2009, Bryan Prairie of Plymouth fell to his death at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. Six months earlier, Jacob Jennings, 20, of Coon Rapids, fell to his death while working as a window washer in Bloomington.

Fatal Fall - Scaffold Collapse: News Update

Update from yesterdays news..

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. -- Authorities have identified the window washer who plunged eight stories to his death on Friday afternoon in St. Louis Park. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner says 25-year-old Ryan Shannon of Roseville died of multiple blunt force injuries after falling from the roof of the Knollwood Place Apartments.  His death has been classified as an accident. OSHA has been called in to investigate the accident.

Name of window washer killed in fall is released: ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (AP) - Authorities have released the name of a window washer who died after falling from the roof of an eight-story apartment building in St. Louis Park. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office says Sunday that 25-year-old Ryan John Shannon of Roseville died Friday afternoon of multiple blunt force injuries. St. Louis Park spokesman Jamie Zwilling said last week Shannon was part of a window washing crew when he fell from the Knollwood Place Apartments, a 151-unit independent senior living building. St. Louis Park police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating.

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Repairmen fall from IMF building: Two window repairmen fell from the International Monetary Fund building in Foggy Bottom on Saturday, but were saved by their safety harnesses. The two adult men fell when the platform they were standing on came loose and they lost their footing at about 11 a.m., according to Pete Piringer, spokesman for D.C. fire and emergency services. They were wearing safety harnesses and came to an "abrupt stop," avoiding injury, Piringer said. The men were working outside the fourth floor of the 11-story building.

Two window repairmen were saved by the safety harnesses after their platform broke while working downtown this morning. Pete Piringer, spokesman for DC Fire and EMS, says units were called to the IMF building in the 1900 block of Pennsylvania Avenue at 11:00 for a technical rescue of two window washers who had fallen. When fire and technical rescue units arrived on scene they found the men had fallen a distance when the anchoring device on their platform came loose. The workers were saved by their safety harnesses, which brought their plunge to an abrupt stop. Piringer says the two men were taken to the hospital for evaluation. They both appear to be unharmed. The men were working on the fourth floor level of the eleven story building when the accident occurred. Crews evacuated a Founding Farmers Restaurant as a precaution while technical crews worked to secure the dangling platform.