New Jersey Window Washer Rescue

Window washer trapped on the side of the Mary Roebling Building in Trenton

Window washer dangling from Trenton high-rise is rescued (Trenton, NJ) — A window washer was stuck hanging in the air between the 8th and 9th floors of an office building in downtown Trenton for more than half an hour this afternoon before being rescued. The man was washing windows on the Mary Roebling building at 20 W. State St., at the corner with North Warren Street, when his rigging failed, Battalion Chief Ron Kosztyu said. Fire crews were called just after 4 p.m. and found him suspended on the outside of the building.

With a small crowd watching from the sidewalk below, firefighters first extended a ladder toward the man, which was not quite long enough to reach him. The crews went in through the building to a roof ledge on the 9th floor, above the spot where the window washer was hanging, and were able to pull him to safety, Kosztyu said. They initially thought the man was unconscious, but he told them he never lost consciousness, and he was able to help himself onto the roof, Kosztyu said.

Witnesses in the crowd said the man had been hanging off the building for 15 minutes before the fire crews arrived. The man exited the back of the building after the rescue and declined to be interviewed. His name and the company he works for were not released.

Trenton firefighters rescue stuck window washer — A window washer working on the Mary Roebling building on West State Street had to be rescued by Trenton firefighters after getting stuck between the eighth and ninth floor Monday afternoon.

Engines 1 and 10, Ladder 4 and Rescue 1 were called to the first block of West State Street around 4:00 p.m. to find the man dangling in his safety harness. The man was stuck due to a jam in his safety harness that left him unable to lower himself to the ground. Ladder 4 initially attempted to reach the man, but the ladder came up short. “Our ladder is 100 feet long and he was about 20 feet higher than us,” Btl. Chief Ron Kosztyu said.

To get the man to safety, crews threw a safety line to him and set up a hauling system on the roof to pull him upwards. “Since he was a window washer, he could do the rigging himself when we threw him a line,” Kosztyu said. Initially, firefighters thought the worker was unconscious because he did not appear to be moving, but once the worker got on the roof, he said never lost consciousness, Kosztyu said. After 45 minutes of hanging in his harness, the man was pulled to safety. There were no reported injuries.