Window Washers Hand Crank Swing Stage Rescue

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As news helicopters buzzed overhead, one of the two window washers passed time by taking photos on his cellphone. Down below, Urban Search & Rescue crews from the Orange County Fire Authority devised a plan to get the men safely off the disabled platform, which became stuck when a motor failed.

Window Washers Rescued From Side of High-Rise Building - The workers used a hand crank to hoist the platform on which they were working to the top of the 19-floor building: Two workers washing windows on the side of an Irvine high-rise building were stuck for several hours before members of an urban search and rescue team helped bring them to safety.

The window washers were working on a metal platform suspended by cables from the rooftop at 4 Park Plaza, an office building north of the 405 Freeway near Jamboree Road. The workers, who were wearing body harnesses, were not injured, according to Orange County Fire Authority officials.

Two window washers cleaning the windows at the Jamboree Center #4 Park Plaza building in Irvine look down after they became stuck on the 17th floor when their swing stage had a mechanical breakdown Wednesday morning.

About 35 members of the department responded to the 19-floor building after the workers became stuck 225 feet off the ground at about 9:30 a.m. By mid-day, crew members secured in harnesses on the rooftop lowered cables that were attached to the platform, called a "swing stage."

The cables were attached to cranks -- a hand-operated crank on one side, a motorized device on the other -- that allowed the workers to slowly bring the "swing stage" to the roof. The workers took turns using the manual crank as they tired. "The sun was beating on them, it's hot," said Capt. Steve Concialdi, of the Orange County Fire Authority. The workers were helped from the platform to the rooftop just before 1 p.m.

Window Washers Rescued Hanging Near 17th Floor of Irvine High-Rise: A pair of window washers were stuck for about three hours Wednesday when their platform malfunctioned near the 17th floor of an Irvine high-rise, but they were eventually lifted safely back to the building’s roof. The call for help came at 9:30 a.m. at the 19-story office building at 4 Park Plaza, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said. At about noon, firefighters began raising the platform toward the roof using a mechanical device outfitted with two engines.

Office workers look out their windows as two window washers cleaning the windows at the Jamboree Center #4 Park Plaza building in Irvine became stuck on the 17th floor when their swing stage had a mechanical breakdown Wednesday morning.

Firefighters took turns hand-cranking the workers up the side of the building, Concialdi said. The workers were safely on the roof just before 1 p.m., according to Mike Lyster, spokesman for The Irvine Co., which owns the building. “The pizza (the company ordered) just arrived, so what good timing,” Lyster said.

The window washers work for Newport Window Maintenance, which services the building for The Irvine Co. about three times a year, Concialdi said. The workers were about 225 feet off the ground, Concialdi said. The building is 260 feet high, Lyster said. The workers were going from top to bottom cleaning the windows, Lyster said. It takes about four days to clean the windows on a building that size, he said.

Two window washers cleaning the windows at the Jamboree Center #4 Park Plaza building in Irvine were the center of attention Wednesday morning as they became stuck on the 17th floor when their swing stage had a mechanical breakdown. The Orange County Fire Authority responded and after nearly three hours their platform was hoisted back to the top of the building.

2 Window-Washers Rescued After Being Stuck Outside 17th Floor of Irvine Building:  Firefighters rescued two window-washers who were stuck for hours around the 17th floor of an office building in Irvine Wednesday. The call came in around 9:30 a.m. that the window washers were stuck outside 4 Park Plaza, which is a 19-story building that was built in 1991, according to tweets from the Orange County Fire Authority.

The workers were unable to move the platform due to a mechanical failure on one side of the lift, Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said. About 35 firefighters arrived at the scene, including 16 “highly qualified” Urban search-and-rescue firefighters, the Fire Authority tweeted. Rescuers secured the workers in harnesses before replacing a cable that would allow the platform to be brought to the top of the building.

The workers had to turn a hand crank on one side of the platform while using a motor on the other side to move the lift “inch by inch,” Concialdi said. “The safety of the two workers and our firefighters was paramount, so we had to go slow,” Concialdi said. Firefighters lowered water down to the workers, who were out in the sun for several hours. Just before 1 p.m., the workers’ platform was raised to the level of the building’s roof and rescuers helped the pair to safety.