Window Washer Scaffold Collapse - San Diego

The Coronado Fire Department responded to a scaffolding collapse at the Shores Monday; no one was hurt, but the platform hung precariously for nearly four hours.

Update: Worker Unhurt After Scaffolding Tips at Shores Building: Firefighters watched over Avenida del Mundo building as they worked with a window-cleaning company to remove the platform. A worker was safe Monday after his scaffolding tipped at a Shores condominium building, and firefighters kept watch afterward until the structure was straightened and lowered safely. The window washer, according to the city, escaped through a unit in the 15-story building at 1830 Avenida del Mundo shortly after the 1:35 p.m. accident. Initially he was saved by a safety harness, as the platform fell and pointed toward the ground.
Firefighters asked residents in units below the floor to remain indoors and away from their windows as a precaution until they could lower the platform, which took place about 5:15 p.m. The ground also was cleared below in case the scaffolding were to fall. The 40-foot platform had been hoisted by a window-washing company. “Our main concern is getting the platform safely to the ground,” Fire Chief Mike Blood said via a city statement. “We will be working with the contractor to use appropriate measures in getting this resolved as quickly and as safely as we can.”
Shortly before 3:30 p.m. fire officials could be heard saying on the scanner that workers were “going to start leveling out the platform,” but added that the process could take a while. City of San Diego and federal firefighters aided Coronado's department in the operation.

Fire Crews Rescue Man in Coronado Shores Platform Malfunction: The Coronado Fire Department rescued a man stuck on a 40-foot-long maintenance platform that malfunctioned and was hanging Monday from the side of a high-rise beachfront condominium building. No injuries were reported. Coronado Fire Chief Mike Blood said firefighters brought the man inside one of the El Mirador Tower units at the Coronado Shores condominium complex, 1820 Avenida del Mundo, through a balcony not long after the first call came in at 1:35 p.m.  Firefighters found the man, who had been performing some maintenance work, hanging from his safety harness from the vertical platform. Another man who was working with the rescued man was already inside a unit when authorities arrived, Blood said.
The platform was hanging near the top of the 15-story building. Fire crews worked with the maintenance contractor to first level then lower the platform. It was down about  Firefighters had asked residents in approximately nine units near and below the disabled platform to remain inside and away from windows.  Authorities checked to ensure that the platform was secured at its connections on the roof. A safety zone was created on the ground below. Coronado Fire officials were aided by City of San Diego and federal fire units.

The platform was situated on the side of a high-rise beachfront condominium on Avenida del Mundo. Firefighters had to rescue the trapped worker.

Crews Rescue Worker Hanging From Platform: A man stuck hanging on a 40-foot-long maintenance platform Monday was rescued by Coronado Fire Department officials. The platform was situated on the side of a high-rise beachfront condominium on Avenida del Mundo at about 1:30 p.m. when the fire department received a call that the platform had malfunctioned. When crews arrived, one of the workers was stuck on the platform, which was hanging near the top of the 15-story building. The man was wearing a safety harness. The stranded worker was rescued through a balcony not long after crews arrived. After the worker was rescued, a safety zone was created on the ground below. The platform could be seen hanging in a vertical position as authorities worked to secure its connections at the roof.

Man rescued from collapsed scaffold (Coronado, California): Firefighters rescued a worker who was left hanging Monday on the end of a 40-foot maintenance platform that tipped vertically on the side of a 15-story beachfront Coronado Shores condominium tower. Authorities received a call at 1:35 p.m. that the platform had malfunctioned, Coronado Fire Chief Mike Blood said. The trapped man’s co-worker was inside a unit. Shortly after arriving, Coronado firefighters were able to pull the man, who was hanging from a safety harness, into a unit at the building on Avenida del Mundo. He was not injured, said city spokeswoman Janine Zúñiga. The platform was attached to the roof of the high-rise. When it malfunctioned, it was left dangling between five stories of the building. Fire crews worked with the maintenance contractor to secure and lower the platform. Residents in units near and below the platform were asked to stay away from windows. San Diego and federal firefighters assisted in the rescue.

Window Cleaners: Australia & Japan

Highly strung workers give building a clean face: The State Government Offices were gleaming like a new penny after a spruce-up yesterday by a team of window cleaners from Melbourne. Hanging high above the street, the team of six from Metropolitan Window Cleaning, was completely in its element. Although the SGO is one of Ballarat's largest buildings it wasn't enough to faze these cleaners. As team member Keiran McCosker pointed out, they have worked on buildings of 33 storeys in Melbourne's CBD. "When you get really high up you can get the heebe-geebes, especially on an all-glass building, but on a building this size, even though you could hurt yourself if you fell, there is a sense of security," Mr McCosker said.
To be a high-rise window cleaner Mr McCosker completed a twin rope method course at Homesglen TAFE for five days. "A lot of people don't make it through the course as it is pretty intensive and you need to be pretty fit," he said. According to Mr McCosker, people are always asking him and his colleagues the same questions about their occupation. "People always want to know if you can come to their house next and what's in your water." Having to work up high out in the open has many challenges but Mr McCosker has some good advice: "Woollen thermal underwear - I swear by it." Pictured above: Window cleaner Adrian Kuhl hard at work at the State Government Offices in Ballarat yesterday.

Branded window washers on skyscrapers: It’s doubtful whether “Window Cleaning Media” will become a 5% medium across the world but this case study takes its brand message to high-flyers in Japan. Northwest Airlines needed to promote its new seats in World Business Class that now allow passengers to recline by as much as 176 degrees, just four degrees off the optimum goal of a perfectly flat bed. Northwest is the third-largest air carrier in Japan and largest international airline operating in the country and it needed to boost its business passengers. MindShare in Japan appropriated space on the window-side of the cleaning platform – for Northwest Airlines. What better way to reach businessmen cheaply and effectively at their place of work?




The MindShare platforms were seen on a number of office buildings in the Otemachi and Akasaka areas of Toyko, selected on the basis of their occupants. Tenants included Cisco and NTT DoCoMo. The new medium – a first for Japan – enabled Northwest Airlines to intrude on an executive’s working day, an environment that’s relatively ad free, and surprise them, thus making the ad more memorable. After all, how many business executives wouldn’t want an office chair that could recline to 176 degrees, particularly after a big lunch. The idea is a cost-effective solution, and one that could be exported to many other markets.

Window washers' Amazing Escape in Brazil

Two window washers in Brazil had to scramble to safety through a window after violent winds began throwing their platform into a high-rise building. In amazing footage broadcast on Globo News, a Brazilian news channel, the two men can be seen swinging on the Aesa platform high above the city of Sao Paulo. Anxious office workers inside the building can be seen watching the drama unfold just metres away, as the cleaners are smashed repeatedly against the building. As the platform comes to a rest at one point, the office workers open a window and pull the pair to safety. After the 49-m.p.h winds caused their cart to swing dangerously back-and-forth, nearly 100 feet above ground - Both men were taken to the hospital for minor cuts and bruises. Footage of the swinging platform begins 30 seconds into the broadcast.

Las Vegas Window Cleaner Rescue

Window washers rescued from Encore amid high winds: Two men washing windows at the Encore were rescued around 9:15 a.m. today after the scaffolding they were working on was tossed by wind. They were working outside the 15th floor on the south side of the building when high winds caused a cable on their equipment to break, Clark County Fire Department spokesman Scott Allison said. Gusts pushed the men as far as 40 feet away from the side of the hotel-casino, Allison said. Several windows were broken during the incident and both men suffered minor cuts, he said. The men, who were not identified, were strapped into a harness on the scaffolding, Allison said. One of the men was transported to a local hospital, but Allison said his injuries were not life threatening. Allison said no injuries were reported to those inside the rooms along the 15th floor. Wind gusts reached 45 mph this morning at McCarran International Airport and a wind advisory was issued for Clark County until 10 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Las Vegas.

Two window washers have been rescued with minor injuries after a cable snapped during high winds, slamming their platform into the glass face of a Las Vegas Strip casino. Clark County fire spokesman Scott Allison says rescuers broke out a 15th-floor window of the 48-story Encore tower to reach the men and pull them inside shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday. Allison says one of the men is hospitalized. The other was treated at the scene for cuts and bruises. Allison says windows were broken and glass showered the pool area when winds blew the platform against the tower. But he and a Wynn Resorts spokeswoman say no other injuries were reported. The National Weather Service says winds were gusting to 44 mph at the time.

Dallas Window Cleaning Cradle Accident

A window-washing accident has damaged a glass building in downtown Dallas and forced officials to close streets. A basket used by workers to wash windows apparently malfunctioned atop the Fountain Place building at the intersection of Ross Avenue and Field Street some time before 11 a.m. The basket dropped several stories, shattering several windows on its way down, before becoming stuck at about the 46th floor. Shards of glass were falling to the street below and the basket was dangling precariously, prompting police to close the intersection. No workers were injured. Live Feed here.

DALLAS Some downtown Dallas streets were closed after a window washing platform broke several panes on a skyscraper and sent glass tumbling more than 40 stories. Dallas police say nobody was on the platform when the accident happened Thursday morning. Authorities are looking into whether a motor malfunctioned. No injuries were reported. Lt. Anthony Williams says engineers were being consulted. The platform dangled about three-fourths of the way up the 60-story Fountain Place office building, known for its angled configuration, reflective glass and water garden.

San Diego Window Washers Rescued

SAN DIEGO -- A typical work day turned hairy for two window washers in Carmel Valley Tuesday morning. One end of a scaffolding dropped, leaving both mean hanging off the side of a building eight stories up for more than 40 minutes. Battalion Chief Mike Finnerty of the San Diego Fire Department said, "The cable just kept extending while the other one didn't, and basically dropped the platform out from underneath one of the window washers who ended up dangling on his safety cable." One of the washers dangled in the air for more than 40 minutes. Thankfully, he was wearing his safety harness. "It's a full-body safety harness that encompasses the legs, the waist and the chest," said Finnerty. The other washer was able to hold on to the other side of the scaffolding that didn't drop. "They were completely safe the entire time. It was just a matter of them now needing to be rescued because of the failure of the scaffolding," said Finnerty. Firefighters used ropes to pull both men up and over the edge of the roof.
Neither washer was hurt. "The main thing is our employees are safe. Nobody got injured on the ground," said Steve Harvey of Lot Management. Both men were able to walk away, quickly telling cameras as they left that one of the machines that winds the cables on the scaffolding stopped working. Lot Management said they would investigate before sending their men back up. Video also here.

This video released by WSIB, Canada from the workplace safety & insurance board.

Montreal Scare for Window Cleaners

MONTREAL, CANADA - Two workers washing the windows of a Concordia University building had the scare of their lives today when the platform they were standing on jammed around the 15th floor. Suspended over a hundred feet in the air, one of the workers called 911 and Montreal police and firefighters arrived moments later. But a basket attached to the top of a crane was not high enough to reach them, so firefighters had to descend from the roof of the building and join the workers on the platform, said Benoît Fleury, chief of operations of the Montreal Fire Department. The workers were carefully lowered into the basket using a rescue harness and ropes, Fleury said. The window cleaning for the downtown Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts building was contracted out to Distinction Maintenance Service. Company spokesperson Christine Roy said all the emergency procedures were followed and that the two workers weren't harmed. The platform was rented from another company, which Roy declined to name. "There was a mechanical problem with the motor," Roy said. "It's very rare, and all the proper regulations were in place." The platform is still hanging from the building and will not be descended until the company investigates what caused the motor to jam, said Chris Mota, a spokesperson for Concordia University. Following the late morning rescue, the two men seemed "very relieved and healthy," Mota said. "They just seemed like you average guys who risk their lives everyday by hanging out the side of a building," Mota said. "They've got nerves of steal."

More Window Washing Platforms with Faults

Workers Stranded Outside 18th-Floor Window Downtown: SAN DIEGO -- Two workers were rescued Saturday outside the NBC 7/39 building in downtown San Diego. Two window washers working outside the upper floors of the NBC building located at 225 Broadway in downtown San Diego were stuck outside the 18th floor for about three hours due to a transmission failure on the window washing platform. A Helicopter, fire crews, paramedics and police were at the scene late Saturday. The workers were rescued and were OK, NBC 7/39 reported.

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