High Rise Cleaners Rescued at 37th Floor
By Associated Press | April 20, 2007
Two window washers trapped outside the 37th floor of an office building were rescued yesterday by an elite team of firefighters trained to use a diamond-studded saw that slices through glass and cuts rescue time in half.
The crew from Ladder Co. 2 responded to the call that the workers were trapped about 400 feet above a Manhattan avenue because their movable scaffolding was stuck and tilting dangerously. Firefighters went to the roof of the 40-story building and threw down ropes to secure the window washers in case the scaffolding started to fall.
The window washers remained calm before their rescue, firefighters said. "They are used to being out there. It's their job, so they were not too panicked," a lieutenant, Christopher Gaby, said.
