The Window Cleaners Socks + Orinda Electric Fine

33,000-volt jolt: Staten Islander's incredible story of survival: STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - As he lay on the ground, feet smoldering, boots singed, holes burned through his white cotton socks, the first thought that went through Nick Genovese’s head was "Don’t die." Some 33,000 volts of electricity had just surged through the Oakwood window washer’s body, after the 40-foot metal washing pole he was holding with his partner made contact with power lines outside an office building in Lynbrook, L.I. "The wind caught it and we seemed to lose a little balance," Genovese said. "I felt the electric shock going through me." "I felt like I was getting fried," added Genovese, 58, the father of two teenage daughters. "The jolt knocked me to the ground. I felt my hands and my feet starting to burn." He never lost consciousness, he said, and he was aware of his surroundings the whole time. It was like something out of a cartoon, he said, his body shaking like the animated characters Tom and Jerry when their tails got stuck in a socket. "It went in my hands and out my feet," Genovese said. "The electricity came out my socks and boots."
His partner, Alan Weinberg, 64, was holding tighter to the pole and was critically injured. Weinberg "passed away at the scene," according to Genovese. It took 20 minutes for emergency responders to revive Weinberg, and he remains hospitalized. Genovese suffered-third degree burns of his feet and between his thumbs and index fingers, where he had grasped the pole with his hands, which were covered with insulated rubber gloves. "His feet actually went on fire in the boots," said his wife, Joann Genovese. After the accident, Genovese called his wife from his bed in Nassau County Medical Center’s East Meadow Burn Unit. "I have a problem," he said over the phone. Her thoughts automatically ran to car crash, she said. "I got electrocuted," he told her. "You got what?!" she responded in disbelief.
Curious to learn just how lucky he’d been to survive such a shock, Genovese did some research on the Internet. "I survived 11 times the voltage of the electric chair," he said, after his search showed a typical chair carries about 3,000 volts. Genovese said he has been told he’s not out of the woods yet and will have to be checked out by a neurologist, cardiologist and ophthalmologist to make sure the electricity didn’t cause any internal damage. Now under the care of Dr. Michael Cooper at Staten Island University Hospital’s burn unit, Genovese is expected to learn today if he’ll need skin-graft surgery, or be left to heal on his own.
In the window-washing business for 41 years, Genovese works for the New York Racing Association, and was working with Weinberg as a side job to make extra money for Christmas. Despite his ordeal, he’s going right back to work when he recovers, he said. Genovese was never particularly religious, he said, but he told a news reporter that after he has recovered, "I’m going back to church." A nun in the hospital who had read his quote in an article about his ordeal approached him and said, "I hope you keep your word. He’s watching you up there." "I know I’m blessed in more ways than one," Genovese said. "I’ve got good friends, a great family, a loving wife and two beautiful children. I’m just looking to heal and get better." When he was discharged last week, a nurse told him, "Go home and evaluate your life, because you are here for a purpose." "I don’t know what my purpose is yet," he said, reflecting on the accident from the comfort of his living room recliner. "I’m just blessed, and happy to be alive and to be home." Last Blog on this story here.

Santa Clara company fined over Orinda window cleaning accident: A Santa Clara-based window washing company has been fined $17,550 after an Orinda electrical accident that injured two of their employees, one fatally. The state Department of Occupational Safety and Health issued three citations Friday against the Delta Window Cleaning Company stemming from the June 5 accident. Jose Herrera and Eduardo Guerra were severely burned when the bucket of their cherry picker came into contact with high-voltage transmission lines over downtown Orinda. Herrera died of his injuries nearly three weeks later. The most serious citation says Herrera and Guerra came within one foot of the power lines despite regulations mandating they be at least 13 feet away. See the story that broke here.

Water Fed Pole Electrocution - New York - Window Cleaner Doing Well

SI Window Washer Survives 33K Volt Shock: Nicholas Genovese sat in his hospital room, his hands and feet still bandaged, and called his survival a "miracle.""I am not the best Catholic," the Staten Island window washer admitted.  "But I am going to start going to church again this Sunday." Genovese, 58, survived a jolt of thirty-three thousand volts of electricity while cleaning the windows of a Lynbrook office building Saturday. He and partner Alan Weinberg, 64, of Long Beach, apparently lost control of their forty feet long cleaning pole in the high winds, according to Lynbrook fire department spokesman Steve Grogran.

Both window washers were on the sidewalk outside the building, maneuvering the aluminum instrument toward the windows above, when it was blown onto high tension wires near the building.
"They probably shouldn't have been attempting that in those conditions," Grogan said. Both window washers were immediately knocked to the ground. "I blacked out for a second," said Genovese. "Then I felt the electricity run through my body." Genovese suffered third degree burns on his hands and feet but may have survived, said Grogan, because he did not have a firm grip on the pole. Weinberg, however, WAS holding it firmly in both hands and was badly injured. "He had no vital signs for nearly twenty minutes," said Grogan.

Lynbrook volunteer firefighters refused to give up their battle to save him and, with help from Lynbrook and Nassau police officers, finally restored Weinberg's pulse after three jolts from a defibrillator. Weinberg remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition, according to a spokesperson for Nassau University Medical Center. Both window washers are now being treated there. Genovese, a father of three, usually serves as a window washer for NYRA; but was on this job as a way to make extra money this holiday season. He promised to be back out there as soon as he is healed; but will forever count his blessings. "I am very lucky," Genovese said. "You never expect something like this to happen to you."

Workers electrified in Lynbrook accident: Two workers were seriously injured in Lynbrook on Saturday when the 40-foot pole they were both holding was blown into a power line, causing a severe shock to both men. According to detectives, two men working for Hewlett Window Cleaners were preparing to wash the windows at Bank of America, at 300 Merrick Rd. using a telescoping 40-foot washing pole (pictured above). Nicholas Genovese 58, of Staten Island was holding the pole at the top of a ladder, while his co-worker, Alan Weinberg 64, of Long Beach was standing on the ground holding the bottom of the pole. A gust of wind blew the pole into a nearby power line, causing serious injury to both Genovese and Weinberg.

Weinberg was in cardiac arrest when police arrived. Lynbrook officer Doug King and NCPD Detective Gary Ferrucci began CPR, followed by Lynbrook firefighters, who were responding to a house fire on Robertson Road when they were notified of a second call for the reported “electrocution,” said fire department spokesperson Steve Grogan. "The Emergency Medical Company was three blocks away and was immediately diverted to the bank," he said. Grogan said that Weinberg was lying on the sidewalk in front of the bank when medics arrived, and his co-worker, Genovese, was lying nearby, being attended to by Lynbrook Police Officer Sal Sedita. At that point, firefighters and other Emergency Medical Technicians arrived and took over in attempting to revive Weinberg who had no pulse and was suffering burns to his hands and feet. Genovese was also suffering burns, but was conscious.

Both window washers were holding the 40-foot pole with a brush on one end as they cleaned the third story windows of the bank, when a gust of wind sent the pole into a 33,000 volt power line running along Merrick Road. Both were electrified and thrown to the sidewalk, with Weinberg going into cardiac arrest. For over 20 minutes, Grogan said, firefighters performed CPR and defibrillated Weinberg without success and without re-gaining a pulse. Finally, after being defibrillated - or shocked - a third time, he was finally revived in the Emergency Medical Company ambulance on the way to the hospital. "Electricity killed him and electricity brought him back to life," said Grogan.

Weinberg was transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital where he was stabilized and then transferred to Nassau University Medical Center Burn Unit for treatment of third and fourth-degree burns to his hands and feet. He is reported to be in very critical condition. Genovese was taken to Nassau University Medical Center and admitted to the Burn Unit for treatment of second and third degree burns. He is in stable condition, according to police. Fire officials also reported that Weinberg’s brother was shocked in a similar type incident some 20 years ago on Freer Street in Lynbrook. He survived.

Staten Island man survives 33,000-volt shock though his body: On Saturday, Nicholas Genovese took what could have been a fatal dose of electricity - 33,000 volts coursing through his and a fellow window washer’s body as they worked on a Long Island bank. Pictured above Joann Genovese dances with her husband, Nicholas. He could be out of the hospital by the weekend. Yesterday, Nicholas Genovese, 58, of Oakwood, was well enough to watch from his hospital bed as the New York Giants beat the Jacksonville Jaguars. Genovese, who has two daughters, ages 19 and 17, is recovering and in good spirits in a burn unit at Nassau University Medical Center, his wife, Joann, told the Advance last night.

“He just blacked out for a second,” Mrs. Genovese said. Genovese is slated to get skin graft surgery for his badly-burned hands and feet today or tomorrow, and may be out of the hospital as early as the weekend, she said. Genovese and a friend, Alan Weinberg, 64, were working for Hewlett Window Cleaners and preparing to wash the windows at a Bank of America branch in Lynbrook, L.I., with a 40-foot telescoping washing pole at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday when a wind gust pushed the pole into a power line. Weinberg was in cardiac arrest when police arrived. They performed CPR, and paramedics from the Lynbrook Fire Department continued treatment.

Weinberg was stabilized at South Nassau Communities Hospital and subsequently moved to Nassau University Medical Center Burn Unit for treatment of second- and third-degree burns to his hands and feet. He was in critical condition, but according to published reports is expected to survive. Mrs. Genovese said her husband called her from the hospital, at first telling her, “I had a problem.” When she asked him what happened, and if he had been in a car crash, he told her, “No, I got electrocuted.” “I was in shock. I said, ‘What? Are you going to be alright?’” she recalled. Genovese, who works at the Aqueduct Race Track and Belmont Park, was supposed to be on vacation this weekend, but took on the window washing job as a side gig, his wife said. “I’m lucky he’s not dead,” Mrs. Genovese said. “By rights, we’re supposed to be in the funeral parlor.”

First news release here.

See previous electrocution with water fed poles here & here.
Safety guidelines for water fed pole users here.
Solar Panel cleaning here.
Extreme study here.

Another Water Fed Pole Electrocution: New York

Long Island window washers suffer electric shock: Lynbrook, New York - Two men working as window washers on Long Island were injured when their washing pole hit a power line, causing an electric shock. The incident happened around 7:30 Saturday morning at the Bank of America on Merrick Road in Lynbrook. The two men who were working for Hewlett Window Cleaners were preparing to wash the building's windows when a gust of wind blew into the two men holding the 40' washing pole. 58-year-old Nicholas Genovese of Staten Island was holding the pole at the top of a ladder while 64-year-old Alan Weinberg of Long Beach was holding it on the ground. The wind blew the pole into a power line causing serious injury to both men.

Weinberg was in cardiac arrest and paramedics performed CPR to regain a heartbeat. He was rushed to South Nassau Communities Hospital where he was stabilized and then transferred to Nassau University Medical Center's Burn Unit for treatment of second and third degree burns to his hands and feet. He is listed in critical condition. Genovese was transported directly to Nassau University Medical Center where he was admitted to the Burn Unit for treatment of second and third degree burns. He is listed in stable condition.

L.I. Window Washers Injured After Electric Shock: Two window washers were hospitalized after receiving an electric shock in Lynbrook Saturday. The incident happened at 300 Merrick Road around 7:30 a.m. According to detectives, two men working for Hewlett Window Cleaners were preparing to wash the windows at a Bank of America branch using a telescoping 40-foot washing pole. Staten Island resident Nicholas Genovese, 58, was holding the pole at the top of a ladder while Alan Weinberg, 64, of Long Beach was standing on the ground holding the bottom of the pole. At that time, a gust of wind blew the pole into a power line.

Police said that by the time officers arrived, Weinberg was in cardiac arrest. They performed CPR, and paramedics from the Lynbrook Fire Department continued treatment. Weinberg was stabilized at South Nassau Communities Hospital and subsequently moved to Nassau University Medical Center Burn Unit for treatment of second and third degree burns to his hands and feet. He was in critical condition. Genovese suffered second and third degree burns. He was in stable condition at Nassau University Medical Center.

See previous electrocution with water fed poles here & here.

Safety guidelines for water fed pole users here.

Solar Panel cleaning here.

Extreme study here.