Two Window Washers Rescued In Manhattan

Window Washers Rescued from Scaffold Stuck 21 Floors Up Federal Building in their gondola outside the 21st floor of 290 Broadway in lower Manhattan.

Window washers left dangling 21 stories up on high-rise: Two window-washers were left trapped 21 stories up after their scaffolding got stuck outside a high-rise federal building in Lower Manhattan on Monday, authorities said. The two workers were washing windows at the 32-story Ted Weiss Federal Building at 290 Broadway just after 1 p.m. when they ran into trouble, officials said. “The scaffold wasn’t budging, and these guys were really high up there,” a fire department source said. “We had to drop ropes down to them to secure the scaffold in the event that it gave way.”

Firefighters wound up having to use a glass-cutter to remove two windowpanes on the 21st floor so that they could pull the workers inside the building and back to safety. “The scaffold was swinging back and forth as they stepped off it. It would have been a long way down if they fell,” said witness Chioma Onyekwere, 25, who works across the street. “I definitely panicked a little when I saw the guys trying to sneak through the hole they cut in the window.

Authorities say the men were trapped on the malfunctioning scaffold for nearly 40 minutes. “There’s a mercury switch on every window-washing scaffold that regulates the level so the scaffold isn’t affected by wind or other factors,” said Fire Chief Dan Donahue. “Once that mercury switch breaks, the whole thing goes into safety mode and basically shuts down.” Both window washers refused medical treatment, according to authorities.

Firefighters secured the contract workers using ropes and cut through a 21st story window.

Window Washers Rescued From Scaffold Stuck 21 Floors Up Federal Building (CIVIC CENTER): Firefighters cut through windows to rescue two men trapped on a scaffold hanging from the 21st floor of a lower Manhattan building, officials said. The window washers were stuck far above Reade Street, alongside the Ted Weiss Federal Building at 290 Broadway, when the scaffold appeared to suffer a mechanical failure about 1 p.m., the FDNY said. "Two employees were indeed out on a scaffold and they were unable to move the scaffold up or down. Basically, they were stuck," FDNY Deputy Chief Dan Donoghue said at the scene.

Firefighters secured the contract workers using ropes and cut through a 21st story window. ''We used a glass cutter," Donoghue said. "We had two panes of glass. We cut one pane, we cut the other pane.'' The workers were not injured, he said. ''They were fine. They were just stuck." The scaffolding was tested Monday morning before the mishap and has no history of malfunction, a spokeswoman for the General Services Administration, which manages the federal building, said. "It has been taken out of service and is currently being evaluated to determine what caused today’s problem and what corrective action is necessary," Renee Miscione said.

The building houses offices for the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others. Elizabeth Nembhard, 24, watched the FDNY save the workers. "The firefighters cut the window and pulled the scaffolding closer to let them in," she said. "The workers walked really slowly and then just disappeared. It was really suspenseful. I started praying to God.'' 

Austrian Window Cleaners Trapped Up Viennas Tallest Building

The window cleaners were left stranded when the platform they were working on slipped nearly 90 degrees. They were working on DC Tower 1 in Vienna, Austria - the country's tallest skyscraper.

Window cleaners dangle on side of 250m building: These terrifying images show the moments after a window-cleaning cradle on Austria's tallest building suddenly slipped, leaving two workers clinging on for their lives. Their precarious position could be seen for miles around, as one side of the platform fell to leave it at a near-45-degree angle. The two men had been cleaning windows on the 48th floor of the Donau City Tower in Vienna, and ended up dangling at more than 470ft (144m). The incident was unsurprisingly witnessed by a number of people passing by down below, and according to local news reports around 30 firefighters responded on the scene.

Left hanging: A close-up view of the platform appears to show one of the workers, dressed in a bright jacket, clinging on to the raised side It is not known how long the pair were left stranded before being rescued.

Though their work was hampered by strong winds, fire crews were able to lower extra cables to ensure the cradle did not drop any further, and the men were eventually let in through a ventilation shaft. Precisely how long the men were left trapped in the cradle remains unclear, and though they escaped unharmed one was treated for shock. The 60-floor, 820-ft (250-m) building they were working on was completed last year overlooking the Danube in one of the city's main urban business hubs. It is officially called DC Tower 1 - with construction now underway on DC Tower 2 on a site nearby. 

The glass-fronted DC Tower is 820 feet high and was only completed last year. The skyscraper has a distinctive design and has windows on one side designed to look like a wave. A second DC Tower is under construction.

Baltimore Window Cleaner Rescue

Firefighters Rescue Window Washer Trapped Outside 10th Floor of Towson Building: Baltimore County firefighters rescued a window washer who was trapped dangling in his harness for nearly an hour outside the 10th floor of a high-rise building near the Towson Town Center Mall.

The window washer was transported to Maryland Shock Trauma to be treated for injuries. Fire officials did not identify the window washer and did not say what type of injuries he suffered.

Fire officials received the 911 call at 12:18 p.m. and rescued him at 1:10 p.m. An advanced tactical rescue team from the Texas fire station helped with the rescue. One rescuer rappelled from the building's roof while another firefigther attempted to assist from a window near the window washer. Other rescuers ascended to the trapped man in a basket affixed to the end of a fire truck's ladder.

A window washer was trapped Thursday outside an assisted living facility at 800 Southerly Road.

A window washer hangs outside a window at 800 Southerly Road, an assisted living facility for the elderly. Residents on the left watch the window washer on the right.

The window washer, who appeared to be concious, was placed in the basket and returned to the ground. He was then placed on a strecther and taken away by an ambulance to Maryland Shock Trauma, officials said. The fire department issued this notification at 12:38 p.m. that fire officials are "on the scene of a high-rise tactical rescue at 800 Southerly Road" in Towson.

Shortly after 1 p.m. firefighters rescued the window washer, whose identity is not yet known. The original notification from the fire department from spokeswoman Elise Armacost stated: "Preliminary reports say a window washer in a harness is trapped outside the 10th floor. Advanced tactical rescue personnel are en route."

Edenwald, a luxury assisted-living community for seniors, is located at 800 Southerly Road. The set of high-rise buildings just across the street from Towson Town Mall provides amenities such as an indoor pool, fitness center, pub, lounge, chapel, putting green, and air-conditioned walking track.

Baltimore County firefighters rescue a window washer who had been trapped outside the 10th floor of a Towson building.