Denver Firefighters Kept Busy Saving Window Cleaners

The collapsed suspended platform. In the first incident two window cleaners were working from a suspended platform when one of the cables gave way, dropping one end of the platform.

Denver fire fighters busy with work at height:  Denver firefighters were kept busy last week, rescuing two men from a collapsed suspended platform and then a man from a boom lift that touched overhead power lines. In the first incident two window washers were working from a suspended platform aka swing stage at a height or around 30 metres, when one of the hoists/cables gave way, dropping one end of the platform.

The fire department just managed to reach the stranded men - both of whom were wearing harnesses – with their 105ft ladder platform. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated the incident.

A closer look.

Then on Friday a man using a Genie S-85 rented from Sunstate Equipment managed to come into contact with some overhead power lines. The lift’s boom was fully retracted, but elevated to around 45 degrees or so. One report claims that the contact caused a fire on the machine, although the man was unhurt. He was wearing a full harness and lanyard and was carrying a fair bit of material including four large planks. Once again the Denver fire service came to the rescue, along with a crew from Xcel Energy. there were no injuries in either incident.

Rescued unharmed after contacting power lines.

India Window Cleaning Rescue

A hydraulic tender was raised to the 12th floor to get the window cleaning workers to the ground. We were safe throughout,” Anus Khan, said.

2 window cleaners, stuck outside 12th floor of building, rescued (New Delhi, India): Two workers, who were cleaning the windows of a commercial highrise in the city, were trapped outside the 12th floor of the building on Wednesday morning when the cables of their suspended platform got jammed. The men were rescued after over two hours by a joint operation of the fire department and the police.

The incident was reported around 6am at Vatika Towers on Golf Course road. According to officials of the fire department, a hydraulic tender was raised to the 12th floor to get the workers to the ground. The rescued workers —Shahbaz Nawaz, 21, and Anus Khan, 22 — said initially they tried to resolve the technical error but later informed their supervisor when they failed to resolve the glitch. The building management immediately informed the fire department.

The men were asked to clean windows of the building early in the morning as noise produced by the machines would be a disturbance for those working in the building, the management of Vatika Towers said. Vatika Towers had outsourced this work to Enviro — a facility management company.

Shahbaz Nawaz, who is a resident of Muzaffarnagar in UP, said, “I was not scared as the platform was intact and there was no risk. It was just not moving and we kept on trying for an hour. Cleaning the glass is an everyday task, so there was no fear of heights.” “Initially, I thought we will manage to get down on our own, but the cables of the platform got locked. Our management told us not to panic and they were constantly in touch with us. We were safe throughout,” Anus Khan, said.

Fire officer of Sector 29, IS Kashyap, said the workers were rescued and brought to the ground with the help of a hydraulic tender, which was raised as high as 42 metres. “We reached the spot almost an hour after rescue operations began,” he added. Seema Patra, the facility head of Enviro, said, “The suspended platform was brand new but the cables got locked and the workers were stuck. They could not operate the cable to move down and were stationed outside the 12th floor.”

ACP(DLF) Ramesh Pal said, “As soon as we got the information, we spoke to the fire department and planned to send teams to the roof with ropes. Subsequently, the men were rescued with the help of a hydraulic tender.”

A Day In The Life Of A Window Washer

Erick Soulard weilds normal brushes and soap as he hangs off the sides of buildings to wash the windows.

A day in the life of a window washer: If you're interested in a job as a window washer, it helps to get used to climbing things. For example, Erick Soulard said he was always climbing trees as a kid. "Now, I like to climb windows and sides of buildings to get my job done," he said.

Armed with Sunlight soap and a normal scrub brush, Soulard said he works from either a platform (called a stage) or a harness called a bosun's chair. He and his brother Rob are the third generation of Soulards to do the job. "My dad showed me . . . how to clean a window back then and I knew what I wanted to be – a window cleaner," said Erick, who said he had wanted to do this since he was six. "I just love it."

The tallest building Erick has worked on was 35 storeys, but he said one of his scariest encounters had nothing to do with the building he was working on – he was attacked by a Peregrine falcon. "It was actually in its nest and got off the nest, swooped back at me," he said. "It had the babies and basically just kept swooping until I got off the top of the building."

The job of a window washer can also hold surprises of another kind – what's going on behind the windows you scrub. "Unfortunately, I can't share what I see through the windows," he said. "That's for me to know and you to find out!"

Three Window Cleaning Updates For Wednesday

Hertfordshire window cleaner's award for chasing gang: A window cleaner has received a bravery award from Hertfordshire police for tackling an armed gang who were breaking into a jewellery shop. David Guest, 63, was cleaning windows next door to The Jewellery Workshop, High Road, Bushey Heath, in May 2010 when he confronted the three men. He chased them despite being threatened with a sledge hammer. Mr Guest has received a certificate of commendation for bravery for his "great courage".

Ch Supt Julia Wortley, of Hertfordshire Police, said: "Although we wouldn't encourage members of the public to confront offenders in every circumstance, especially if they have weapons, we are really appreciative of David's courageous intervention." Ch Supt Wortley told Mr Guest: "You acted with great courage and as a result, you prevented these criminals from achieving their goal, which was obviously to steal jewellery and other valuable items. "You stood up to three men who could easily have caused you harm, refused to back down when they threatened you and when they ran off, you persisted by trying to catch up with them."

The men abandoned the robbery and left empty-handed. Mr Guest said: "I'm very honoured to be given this commendation. "I acted instinctively and would do it all again without a second thought. "It was only afterwards, I realised what could have happened. I couldn't just stand there and observe when they were so blatant." Police continue to investigate the incident. See why David became famous.

A delighted Edward Meakins, a former window cleaner has expressed his relief at being allowed to stay in his family home of 74 years. The 83-year-old was presented with a had delivered letter from Barnet Homes on Monday explaining staff will not be pursuing action to force him from his Cricklewood home. The housing management organisation had said the bachelor would not be able to remain in the three bedroom property, in Cloister Road, after his sister Margaret died in May. But following huge public outcry, Barnet Homes backtracked, and Mr Meakins said: “I'm over the moon.

“At first, I couldn't understand whether I had got the house or not. I had to take it to a friend who said 'that's it, you've got the house'. “It means everything to me, I can't really explain it. After all these years of living here with my sister, I couldn't understand why they wanted me to more out. “It is not as if I had just come here, 74 years is a long time. It has been a terrible wait for me. I don't know how long I could have carried on really.” The letter to Mr Meakins, from Barnet Home chief executive Tracey Lees, said she recognised the pensioner “may be feeling a great deal of anxiety about your housing position”.

She then went on to confirm that if he does wish to stay in the home, then Barnet Homes will not pursue any eviction proceedings against him. Mr Meakins' plight, which was exclusively revealed by the Times Series, attracted support from thousands of people on Facebook, with hundreds more signing online petitions. And the former window cleaner said: “I am very pleased with the support I received. “To those people who have supported me, I am very grateful for what they have done for me. “It was lovely to hear about the support. Now I can carry on with my life, and continue looking after my garden.” Previous blog here.

Window Cleaning Platform 18-storey fall: Two construction workers, who happened to be siblings, died after falling from an 18-storey building in the capital's Motijheel yesterday. The deceased are Abbas Bepari, 32, and his younger brother Swapan Bepari, 30, of Muladi upazila in Barisal. They fell with a window-cleaning platform while using it to paint the WW Tower. This latest accident is a stark reminder of the gross negligence in safety measures for construction workers. Statistics show, more than 70 construction workers died in workplace-related accidents over the last six months in Bangladesh.



The window-cleaning platform hurtled down and crashed on to a steel case of a generator below on the footpath behind the building, narrowly missing pedestrians, said witnesses. The workers died instantly as they fell in front of the Wari Club. The iron window-cleaning platform, falling from such a height, also damaged windowpanes of the building, they added. Mohammad Sohrab Hossain, nephew of the deceased, said another worker Rokon was mixing paint on the roof while his uncles were painting the top floor perched on the rusty platform, which was hanging riskily at the rear of the building.

Our correspondent visited the spot and found the wires attached to the platform to be rusty and worn. Ziaul Aziz, who supervised the construction work of the four-year-old building, said Abbas Bepari provided the platform as he took the contract of painting the building. "Abbas agreed to complete the work for Tk 6.5 per square foot using his equipment and manpower while the authorities would be providing with the paint," he said. However, several workers denied this and said the old platform belonged to the building authorities and was lying on the rooftop for the last four years.

Shahjahan, a worker, said, "The platform was used during construction of the building, a fact which the authorities are well aware of." Officer-in-Charge Tofazzal Hossain of Motijheel Police Station said they were investigating to detect the cause behind the accident. Kaiyum, cousin of the deceased, filed an unnatural death case in this connection yesterday, the OC said. Sekandar Ali Mina, programme director of Safety and Right Society, an NGO working to ensure safety and workers' rights, told The Daily Star that a third of the total workers who die in workplace-related accidents are construction workers. He said 70 out of 175 workers who died in workplace-related accidents this year are construction workers. Last year, 100 construction workers died while the total death toll in workplace-related accident is 272. Recent Scaffolding falls.

Window Cleaners: Australia & Japan

Highly strung workers give building a clean face: The State Government Offices were gleaming like a new penny after a spruce-up yesterday by a team of window cleaners from Melbourne. Hanging high above the street, the team of six from Metropolitan Window Cleaning, was completely in its element. Although the SGO is one of Ballarat's largest buildings it wasn't enough to faze these cleaners. As team member Keiran McCosker pointed out, they have worked on buildings of 33 storeys in Melbourne's CBD. "When you get really high up you can get the heebe-geebes, especially on an all-glass building, but on a building this size, even though you could hurt yourself if you fell, there is a sense of security," Mr McCosker said.
To be a high-rise window cleaner Mr McCosker completed a twin rope method course at Homesglen TAFE for five days. "A lot of people don't make it through the course as it is pretty intensive and you need to be pretty fit," he said. According to Mr McCosker, people are always asking him and his colleagues the same questions about their occupation. "People always want to know if you can come to their house next and what's in your water." Having to work up high out in the open has many challenges but Mr McCosker has some good advice: "Woollen thermal underwear - I swear by it." Pictured above: Window cleaner Adrian Kuhl hard at work at the State Government Offices in Ballarat yesterday.

Branded window washers on skyscrapers: It’s doubtful whether “Window Cleaning Media” will become a 5% medium across the world but this case study takes its brand message to high-flyers in Japan. Northwest Airlines needed to promote its new seats in World Business Class that now allow passengers to recline by as much as 176 degrees, just four degrees off the optimum goal of a perfectly flat bed. Northwest is the third-largest air carrier in Japan and largest international airline operating in the country and it needed to boost its business passengers. MindShare in Japan appropriated space on the window-side of the cleaning platform – for Northwest Airlines. What better way to reach businessmen cheaply and effectively at their place of work?




The MindShare platforms were seen on a number of office buildings in the Otemachi and Akasaka areas of Toyko, selected on the basis of their occupants. Tenants included Cisco and NTT DoCoMo. The new medium – a first for Japan – enabled Northwest Airlines to intrude on an executive’s working day, an environment that’s relatively ad free, and surprise them, thus making the ad more memorable. After all, how many business executives wouldn’t want an office chair that could recline to 176 degrees, particularly after a big lunch. The idea is a cost-effective solution, and one that could be exported to many other markets.

Window washers' Amazing Escape in Brazil

Two window washers in Brazil had to scramble to safety through a window after violent winds began throwing their platform into a high-rise building. In amazing footage broadcast on Globo News, a Brazilian news channel, the two men can be seen swinging on the Aesa platform high above the city of Sao Paulo. Anxious office workers inside the building can be seen watching the drama unfold just metres away, as the cleaners are smashed repeatedly against the building. As the platform comes to a rest at one point, the office workers open a window and pull the pair to safety. After the 49-m.p.h winds caused their cart to swing dangerously back-and-forth, nearly 100 feet above ground - Both men were taken to the hospital for minor cuts and bruises. Footage of the swinging platform begins 30 seconds into the broadcast.

Las Vegas Window Cleaner Rescue

Window washers rescued from Encore amid high winds: Two men washing windows at the Encore were rescued around 9:15 a.m. today after the scaffolding they were working on was tossed by wind. They were working outside the 15th floor on the south side of the building when high winds caused a cable on their equipment to break, Clark County Fire Department spokesman Scott Allison said. Gusts pushed the men as far as 40 feet away from the side of the hotel-casino, Allison said. Several windows were broken during the incident and both men suffered minor cuts, he said. The men, who were not identified, were strapped into a harness on the scaffolding, Allison said. One of the men was transported to a local hospital, but Allison said his injuries were not life threatening. Allison said no injuries were reported to those inside the rooms along the 15th floor. Wind gusts reached 45 mph this morning at McCarran International Airport and a wind advisory was issued for Clark County until 10 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Las Vegas.

Two window washers have been rescued with minor injuries after a cable snapped during high winds, slamming their platform into the glass face of a Las Vegas Strip casino. Clark County fire spokesman Scott Allison says rescuers broke out a 15th-floor window of the 48-story Encore tower to reach the men and pull them inside shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday. Allison says one of the men is hospitalized. The other was treated at the scene for cuts and bruises. Allison says windows were broken and glass showered the pool area when winds blew the platform against the tower. But he and a Wynn Resorts spokeswoman say no other injuries were reported. The National Weather Service says winds were gusting to 44 mph at the time.

Australian Suspended Platform Death

Painter falls 40m to his death after gantry collapses: He was a local legend who died doing what he did best and at the age of 70, Tom Hynes was still regarded as the most professional painter in Maroubra. Tom "the Pom", as he was known, fell 40m to his death when his gantry collapsed yesterday while painting the back of the Maroubra Seals Club. A desperate rescue operation was launched as a co-worker was left dangling, the wood and metal platform swinging precariously above his head. A harness saved the younger man but Mr Hynes plunged head first into the lane behind the club. Club president Alan Langford said Mr Hynes was an old friend who would be missed by all who knew him. "He's part of the Seals family - he's been around for 30 years," Mr Langford said. "He was a great story-teller and a great bloke." Mr Langford said the club would meet on Wednesday night to plan an event in his memory. He said he and other members of the club's management had attended a counselling session. "All the emotions you can think of - frustration, anger with different things that happened and shock (came out at the session)," he said. Builder Dayne Cox, who was working at Maroubra ambulance station - just 50m away - was among the first to arrive at the scene but said it was obvious little could be done to save Mr Hynes. "He was bleeding pretty heavily from the mouth so we raced back over to get the ambulance guys but there was no way they could resuscitate him, he had already died," Mr Cox said. "We then grabbed a ladder to try to help the bloke who was dangling from his harness but they ended up getting him into the building."

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A second drama occurred at the scene later when a crane brought in to move the fallen gantry toppled over on to an empty car. The crane driver was trapped inside for about 10 minutes.
As WorkCover investigators joined police and union officials in the inquiry Mr Hynes was praised by locals for his professionalism and decades of contributions to the beachside community. "He was a legend - simple as that," friend Percy Jones said. "People would queue up to hire Tom's services. He was very popular. As a painter and a good bloke he was second to none. "He was a big fella. He's only just celebrated his 70 birthday and was going real strong. This is just terrible."

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Superintendent Peter McErlain said Mr Hynes was sub-contracted to the club for maintenance work. Officers were investigating conflicting reports about whether the victim was wearing a harness when the platform - which ended up dangling from the ropes on one side - gave way.
Paramedic Peter Ennis said the surviving man was "uncomfortable but calm" during the 30-minute operation to retrieve him from his harness, which was swinging from the bottom end of the gantry 20m above the ground.

The standards in this area are lead by the Specialist Access Engineering and Maintenance Association (SAEMA) although other members of the Access Industry Forum (AIF) may have an interest in such platforms. The HSE publication on window cleaning using suspended platforms also contains precautions required when using the platforms.