Window Washer Falls To His Death From Fifth-Floor Apartment In Tribeca

A man in his 30s fell out of a fifth-floor apartment while washing windows at a Tribeca building on Tuesday, police said. Click to enlarge.

A man fell from scaffolding and plummeted four floors to his death when his head landed on an iced-over snow pile in TriBeca, authorities and police said. The victim, who’s believed to have been a window washer, fell from a building on Greenwich and Jay streets at 1:10 p.m., Tuesday and landed in front of the high-end rug store Carini Lang, authorities said. “His head landed in the snow is what it appeared like. The other half of his body was on the sidewalk,” a witness said. “He was breathing. Everyone surrounded him and put their coats on him to keep him warm. His head landed in the snow pile and his legs and feet were on the concrete,” the man added. “There was a woman standing in front of me with a stroller and she started screaming, ‘a man fell, call 911! I didn’t get too close but I saw his head was on the snow,” the witness who refused to be identified explained. The victim, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at New York Downtown Hospital.

Window washer falls to his death from fifth-floor apartment in Tribeca: A window washer who was leaning out a fifth-floor apartment without a harness plunged to his death in Tribeca Tuesday afternoon, cops said. The man, whose identity wasn’t immediately released, was leaning out to clean a window at 335 Greenwich St. when he fell about 1:09 p.m. A police source said he was in his 30s. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Tribeca Window Washer Falls To Death From 3rd Floor Window: A window washer in his 30s fell to his death from a third floor window in a Tribeca building this afternoon. Police and FDNY officials confirm that the man, who has not yet been publicly identified, fell shortly after 1 p.m. from a window at 335 Greenwich Street. One police source told the Daily News the worker was cleaning a window without a harness. An FDNY spokesman said the man was "awake and breathing" when first responders reached him, but officials say he was pronounced dead at approximately 1:30 p.m. at New York Downtown Hospital. Witnesses say the worker landed in front of a high-end rug store called Carini Lang. "His head landed in the snow is what it appeared like. The other half of his body was on the sidewalk,” a witness told the NY Post. "He was breathing. Everyone surrounded him and put their coats on him to keep him warm. His head landed in the snow pile and his legs and feet were on the concrete."

Window Washer Critically Hurt After Falling From Fifth Floor, Officials Say (MANHATTAN) — A window washer was critically hurt after falling from the fifth floor of a TriBeCa apartment building Tuesday morning, officials said. The man, who is in his 30s but whose name was not immediately released, tumbled from the Hanover River House at 335 Greenwich St., near Jay Street, just minutes after 1 p.m., according to NYPD and Department of Buildings officials. The man was taken to Lower Manhattan Hospital, officials said. Police said he was in critical condition. Units in the building have sold for as much as $1.75 million, according to previous listings.

The Wagtail Hydrator

Check out Wagtail

New Wagtail tools coming soon - The Wagtail Hydrator: Willie Erken has a passion for improving the way windows are cleaned. Willie has seen it as a personal challenge to redefine the window cleaning tool. For more than 20 years since his award winning pivoting Combi, Willie has continued to create a series of world renowned innovations. His reputation for leading the world in tool design is outstanding. Willie Erken was the owner of ZAP,  a successful window cleaning company for many years.

Willie has just released a sneak peak video (below), but it's advisable to go straight to the you tube link to see it the new squeegee in all it's glory. Willie says; "The Wagtail Hydrator is a squeegee with an attached lubricating pad." "The main aim of this pad is to provide moisture to the squeegee blade to reduce drag." "The second benefit is that this pad also assists in the simultaneous cleaning and it will not interfere when closing out on a window frame." Willie also adds, "within the week we are releasing new exciting, daring and worthwhile tools!"

Like the vast majority of window cleaners, Willie and his employees had developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome from using tools that were heavy, cumbersome and forced the user to manipulate their arms in unforgiving, unnatural ways, which were not only very time consuming but could only provide the perfect angle in very specific and limited circumstances. This was the the pivotal moment which lead to change how the world cleans today. The idea of building tools based around the pivot system was born—and, with it, the Wagtail™ Cleaning Tools company.

The only freely pivoting squeegee in the world is known as Wagtail. Some like to refer to this as ‘the best thing since sliced bread.”

Why switching to Wagtail is one of the best things you'll ever do: The speed and ease of Wagtail Squeegees has been appreciated by the select few for almost two decades. Business operators have closely guarded their secret of Wagtail for themselves to safeguard their profits. It has been acknowledged as an asset, an expression of uniqueness and style for the new embracers.

Wagtail as an Investment: Wagtail as an investment can be identified as a ‘best kept secret’ and coveted as an enhancement to ones working life. In this competitive world an individual work stands alone! It should be recognized as the ‘one off’ it is; made even more unique because it is an original creation. It commands the respect of the cleaner and the aspirant.

Not all appreciate Wagtail! In fact only a relatively small percentage of the window cleaning population appreciate it. This is changing, as witnessed by the demand for window cleaning exhibitions touring Nationally and Internationally to an audience who appreciate innovation. Plus the availability of information, so easily accessed and the use of the media to demystify Wagtail and as the flow of information increases the interest.

Click here, for Wagtail T.V.

Heaviness of a tool does not mean quality: In the past, Wagtail Squeegees have been viewed by outsiders as the radical tool from Australia, they could see our tools were fast but assumed they were not as robust like traditional tools that are particularly heavy and cumbersome. Today, our tools have stood the ‘test of time’ as proof that Wagtail Pivoting Tools are appreciated and regarded as lightweight yet robust assets to hold and work with to maintain the health and wellbeing of the operator.

The Pivot: Wagtail manufacture the only freely pivoting squeegees in the world.  The advantage of a free pivot is that you can s-stroke with ease and grants you with further reach and speed than fixed squeegees. Wagtail continues to implement the pivot technology to achieve better force vectors with a growing number of newer applications such as the “rinse bar” with the newest "Jetstream" invention.  Efficiency becomes part of our quest for attaining pure speed. 

The cooler cleaning tool.

Glass Monkey Becomes Brass Monkey - Ice Dam!

Sam Waller of "Glass Monkey", he's a window washer who relies on his bike for work -- despite the weather being as cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.

Window washer's business travels on two wheels (Roanoke, VA): Sam Waller started his own business cleaning windows more than a year ago in Roanoke - This month's winter weather kept a lot of business owners from opening up, but for some, there's no such thing as a snow day, especially if you work for yourself. Sam Waller is one of those people. "This is more than just my work,” he said. “It's my meditation."

What you see isn't necessarily what you get from this window washer. He says there's so much more.

"I believe anyone can just pick up a squeegee and do what I do, but I bring a sense of personality or relations to the customer or client." Waller is the owner and only employee of Glass Monkey Window Cleaning. "I'm all over town,” he said. “I'm on Williamson and Towers and all over downtown and I live near Grandin so I got a lot of business over there, so I bike it all and wash businesses all day."

Waller has about 100 customer in Roanoke, but he doesn’t drive a car or truck to get to them. He hauls his 5-gallon buckets, poles, blades and squeegees in a not-so-conventional way. "This is an 82 Schwinn World Taurus and it's actually a little bit of a rarity."

Not only does Waller use a bike as a means of transportation, but he also wears a bow-tie as a part of his uniform. "You just never know who you are going to meet or what you're going to do and I feel like if you're always a little overdressed you're never under dressed."

Waller says he got rid of his car nearly ten years ago because he loves cycling so much. "It was great,” he said when talking about his old car. “It was fun, but it was nothing compared to the fun of riding a bike." Not to mention it's easy on the environment.

Waller’s a one-man show, making a living with every window he cleans and proving that sometimes all it takes is some cleaner, a squeegee and a little elbow grease to make your dream a reality. "I think it's like a can of worms that you can’t put the lid back on even if you wanted to,” said Waller. “I can’t see myself working for someone else ever again."

Workers clear snow from a roof in Boston.

Minnesotans head east to fix Boston's extreme ice dams: The record snowfall that's buried parts of the East Coast has created a very Minnesota problem for homeowners: ice dams. But that misfortune has turned into a blessing for Minnesota companies that melt ice off of roofs, and have found scarce work at home during this mild winter.

Jesse Lofgren, with Monticello-based Absolutely Clean Window Washing, said he's spent the last two days working on a Boston nursing home that he estimates has thousands of square feet of ice dams built up on the roof. "In Minnesota we typically see fairly long icicles, but this is an extreme situation," Lofgren said. "The icicles on most houses up here go from the roof completely to the ground."

Boston officially hit 101 inches of snow this week — just six inches short of the all-time record set two decades ago. People in Boston are getting desperate, Lofgren said. "Everybody thinks it's acceptable to use blunt-force objects on the ice dams, such as hammers, screwdrivers, chisels," Lofgren said. "We've actually had a few beaten with sledgehammers and axes — it's what people do up here."

A cascade of ice adheres to the side of a brick building in downtown Boston on Feb. 20. Ice dams are a growing concern for homeowners in snowbound New England.

Gil Dos Santos owns a mid-century ranch house in Boston. He said icicles slowly crept from the eaves of his home's roof to the center of the house. Then the leaks started. "You see everybody with these massive icicles," Dos Santos said. "A lot of my neighbors have it; it's just a matter of if it's already started leaking or not."

The Minnesota company that cleared his roof charged $500 an hour, and it took five hours to clear the ice dams off his house. That's comparable to some premium Minnesota services, but there are reports of charges as much as $600 an hour. The Canadian native had never heard of ice dams before, and now everyone is talking about them. "We're looking up diagrams of how they form, and reading up on 'This Old House' about how to get rid of them," Dos Santos said. "You see a lot of people putting salt into nylons and throwing those up on the roof to try to create channels for the ice melt to run off."

The situation has created a lot of demand for the expertise Minnesota companies have developed over the years. Dozens of Minnesotans are clearing roofs in the city. One owner of a Minnesota-based company declined to comment publicly because he's already swamped with work in Boston. He said he's gotten more than 800 requests for work in Boston, although his crews can only clear about 25 roofs a day.

John Theis, owner of Grand Gutters Inc. in Plymouth, set out to Boston this week with eight employees. Theis' crews use steamers to clear two or three houses a day each. He's found that each roof is taking longer to clear than typical Minnesota roofs, partly because of the weather and partly because of a lack of knowledge about ice dams.

"I think Minnesotans are aware of ice dams, so we're kind of looking for them a little bit," Theis said. "Here it's just all of a sudden water is coming into everybody's houses and they don't know why."

It's been a slow winter for clearing ice dams in Minnesota, which has been good for homeowners but bad for business. Theis said his crews are hoping to get five or six days of work in Boston. He's keeping one eye on the weather report, with weather conditions in nearby states like New Hampshire looking good for ice dams.

"We've just been hanging around the last couple months, doing what we can to get by this winter, so everybody's pretty excited to be working," Theis said. "They're willing to do just about anything, as far as go anywhere. Make some money. Help people out." The influx of Minnesotans has maybe even replaced the East Coast's famous brusqueness with a sort of gratitude. "Every time a new company comes out here, it's like, 'Hey, more Minnesota guys turned up!'" Theis said. "The way the media is treating us out here, it's like we're almost Santa Claus."

UK Window Cleaner Of The Year 2015 Winners

Jack Mcavoy shown winning employee of the year, but went on to win the federation of window cleaners employee of the year award.

Window Cleaner of the Year 2015 Winners! We are delighted to announce the overall winner from each category - selected on the number of votes they received. Huge congratulations to the following worthy winners of the FWC “Window Cleaner of the Year 2015 competition”. 

COMPANY OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015: Progress Cleaning Services Ltd – Southampton EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015: Jack Mcavoy – Employee with: Nationwide Window Cleaning Ltd - Yorkshire 

The Winners will be officially announced at the Cleaning Show Excel in London on Wednesday 11th March and their Award & prizes presented by FWC Executive Scott Smith. Once again we thank the Executive member judges for their time and effort. More essentially to our members for participating in this competition with such enthusiasm….well done! 

Runners up in numerical order will be given a 2015 finalist certificate: “Company of the Year 2015” finalists: 

J.V. Price Ltd – Hertfordshire 

D.W.S Services –Essex 

Complete Cleaning Services (SW) Ltd - Exeter

“Employee of the Year 2015” finalists:
James Driver: employee of T.R. Cleaning Ltd
Joe Smyth- employee of Impact Support Solutions Ltd
Philip Wyer employee of Crystal Clear Ltd

1st Place – Jack McAvoy (South Eastern Region), won an iPad Air for employee of the year.

WINDOW CLEANER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015: Congratulations to Jack Mcavoy, our Employee of the Year, for being shortlisted for the Window Cleaner of the Year Awards 2015.

Federation of Window Cleaners executives had lengthy and intensive discussions to whittle the list down to these four whom demonstrate exemplary achievements.

The Federation of Window Cleaners received over 100 proposed nominees – all with superb quality entries giving the executive team a tough time arriving at this list…… the names set out below are the cream of the professional crop. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Executive member judges for their time and effort and also take our hats off to all the entrants for their enthusiastic entries submitted for the Window Cleaner of the Year Award 2015. Jack Mcavoy, the outright winner will be at the Cleaning Show Excel in London where prizes will be awarded.

Award For Officers Who Saved Dangling Window Washer

David Schmandt, former employee of North Coast Window Cleaning.

Deputies save window washer dangling from roof, become Officers of the Year (Albany, N.Y.)  – The quick thinking and heroic acts of two Albany County deputies has landed them with the title of New York State Officers of the Year. The incident happened in September 2014 when sheriff deputies Brian Lawler and Mark Duda saw a man dangling from the roof of the judicial center.

Duda said it was a pedestrian that alerted him to the man hanging only by his fingertips and a maintenance worker clinging to the man’s t-shirt. The man, David Schmandt, was an employee of North Coast Window Cleaning and had come unhooked from his harness while climbing over the edge. The maintenance worker, Joseph Palella, said the officers came just in time. “He was holding on by his fingertips, literally, and another ten seconds it would have been over,” Palella said. “Luckily it worked out for the best.”

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said their quick thinking very well could have saved the young man’s life and was proud the New York Sheriff’s Association recognized his officers. “I think anybody would have done it,” Duda said. “Just acting to the situation and just helping somebody out.”

While Duda said Schmandt is safe today thanks to the actions of everyone involved, including Palella, everyone can agree it easily could have gone south. “He was physically shaken,” Duda said. “He was a nervous wreck.” “I’m just glad he is OK,” Palella said. “Just glad it worked out.” Schmandt lives in Rochester and was not available for comment on this story. However, his coworkers said he is doing fine but no longer working for the window washing company.

Entrepreneur Window Cleaner Goes Social

"When I first started this business it was simply a means to provide for my family. I chose window cleaning because it paid well and was flexible enough for my wife and I to continue in out volunteer work.

Entrepreneur uses Instagram for positive business stories: Entrepreneur Chadwick Washington says it is a popular misconception that nothing good comes from social media. He said he wants to use Instagram, as well as Twitter and Facebook, to spread positive messages and inspirational stories from small business owners.

"These random pop culture references aren't doing anything to make you a better person," Washington said. "I know that is a way to get more followers, but that is not what I want. … My real currency is stories. Social media is a wonderful tool, but unfortunately, a majority of what it is used for doesn't make us better people. It's not uplifting, it's not educational, and that's sad."

Washington is a native of Lexington who moved to China for four years and worked as an English teacher. He said his original plan was to relocate overseas permanently, but his plans changed once he met his future wife during a visit home. In 2013, he found himself married with stepchildren and said he needed to find a new way to produce an income. He decided to open his own window washing service, but he was still feeling unsure of himself and was looking for inspiration.

Washington came up with the idea of the Instagram account called Small Business Stories after looking for similar resources to help him keep a positive outlook about owning his own business.

"I went on Instagram to find some motivating accounts that were business related, but I couldn't find any," Washington said. "I found business accounts, but they would have quotes from all these famous leaders, like Ghandi or Muhammad Ali, which is great, but how do I translate that to my life? What I was trying to find was an account that had stories from small business people talking about their challenges, triumphs and everything in between. Since I couldn't find that, I said, 'Why don't I just create it?'"

Chadwick Washington (right) uses social media, primarily Instagram, to help tell inspirational tales about small business owners in Lexington. Here Washington interviews All About Education owner Toby Prince.

Washington said his mother told him about Lexington Mayor Newell Clark, and his mission to promote Lexington as a progressive and forward-thinking community. Clark is also an avid user of social media. Washington said he had a meeting with Clark, who encouraged him to spend time highlighting the small businesses in Lexington throughout March.

"I had a flash of inspiration and got in touch with the mayor just to gauge his interest," Washington said. "I was able to sit down with him and talk about how I could focus on Lexington. He invited me to profile local small businesses and even had a few suggestions of businesses that he thought I would like."

Clark said he was happy to support a hometown champion who wants to use social media to feature business owners in the city.

"I've talked about social media and how we can leverage it to get our message out," Clark said. "He (Washington) was already down the road on what he was doing, but he got really excited about featuring his hometown. … He was so impressed with what has happened with uptown since he has gotten back. … More than anything else, I think it is folks working together that is making it successful.

"You will hear me talk about Lexington, but you will also hear me talk about Davidson County and the Triad. We are a big Triad neighbours, and we are really honing down on that by saying, 'Let's support each other, and let's promote each other.' Chadwick's story is about featuring how we are working together to transform this community, and I was glad to support him."

Washington said he is not selling anything and is not trying to become rich; he just wants to provide a platform where small business owners can join in the conversation, tell their stories and be inspired by other local entrepreneurs.

"In the middle of it all is storytelling," Washington said. "I'm not paying for advertising or trying to make money. I have all these ideas, but at the center of it is am I telling a good story?. … When I wake up in the morning, I want to read something uplifting. All I'm doing is trying to get their story, not a business bio. I want to know where their passion comes from."

This is my motivation. Until May of 2014 I had been content to roam the world as a traveling educator. Taiwan, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, The Philippines, Guyana, Trinidad .... I was free and lost at the same time. It wasn't until I met my wife and my stepdaughter that I realized I had a reason to stay in one place, that if I just put down roots I might have something to offer my community. For the first time in my life I have not just one but TWO people that depend on me, so I decided to start my own window cleaning business. That is my motivation, that is what drives me to keep fighting even though I know I'm behind the curve in almost every way. I spent almost a decade of my life bouncing from one place to the next. You learn a lot by traveling, what I didn't know is how much you can grow if you can just decide to settle down. I can't fail because it's not just about me anymore."

Customer Tip - Glass Jars Next To Windows Start Fires

Aftermath: The bedroom was ravaged by the blaze which killed beloved family pet Chili (Picture: London Fire Brigade). The low winter sunlight coming through the window is believed to have been focused by the glass jar and strengthened, sparking a blaze which devastated the family home and completely destroyed the roof of the house. Four fire engines and 21 firefighters attended the blaze.

Sun rays shining on Nutella jar spark fire destroying family home and killing dog: A dog was killed and a family home wrecked after a huge fire was started by sun rays shining through a Nutella jar. Beloved family pet Chili, a nine-year-old Jack Russell, died from smoke inhalation while trapped inside the house in Twickenham, south west London, as the fire raged.

Firefighters believe it was caused by low winter sunlight being refracted through the glass chocolate spread container, which was being used to hold loom bands. Electrical supervisor Declan Murphy, 41, told Get West London: "We're all heartbroken at Chili's death and we've been told it will be up to a year before the house is ready for us to move back into. "I want to ensure other people are aware of the dangers and know to keep glass items away from windows and out of direct sunlight so they don't have to go through anything like this."

Mr Murphy had been out of the house at the time, celebrating the anniversary of his engagement with his wife and two children. The jar had been sitting on the windowsill of his daughter's bedroom. The fire on Sunday, February 15, destroyed the first-floor bedroom and also damaged the roof of the house. Charlie Pugsley, from the London Fire Brigade's fire investigation unit, said: "It sounds far fetched that a jar containing a few rubber bands caused a severe house fire but that’s exactly what happened. "It’s worth spending five minutes checking that your window ledges are clear of any glass or crystal that might lead to potentially life changing blaze."

That incident prompted a warning from the London Fire Brigade, which revealed it had been called to 125 fires caused by the sun's rays over the last five years.

Warning after Nutella jar sparks devastating blaze: The fire came just days before sunlight refracted off a mirror table at the Mayfair home of lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone, setting alight a bean bag, on Thursday (February 19). That incident prompted a warning from the London Fire Brigade, which revealed it had been called to 125 fires caused by the sun's rays over the last five years - including five this winter alone. Charlie Pugsley, from the brigade's fire investigation unit, said: "These sort of fires are not as rare as you would think. I've seen everything from sparkly door knobs to crystal balls starting fires. "Crystal and glass ornaments and items such as mirror tables should be kept out of direct sunlight. We wouldn’t advise that people put fires out themselves but it is good to see that Ms Mone is not injured. "This shows these fires are not an urban myth. "Also make sure that you have a working smoke alarm on every level of your home."

Also see: Clean Windows + Low Winter Sun + Glass Refocus = Fire