The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) reportedly rescued a pair of construction workers Tuesday after their scaffolding collapsed and left them stuck on the 10th floor of a building in the Upper West Side.
Firefighters were called to the building on 78th Street and Broadway at 4:30 p.m. where a man and woman doing facade work on the residential building were stuck on the 10th floor, CBS 2 reported.
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The two construction workers reportedly moved to a narrow ledge by a window as they waited roughly five to 10 minutes for an FDNY team to arrive. Witness John Bedolis told CBS 2 that the workers “were hanging on to the ledge of the window” by their safety harnesses.
The rescue operation went smoothly for the woman, who firefighters were reportedly able to move into the building through the window. The man, however, was left clinging on the edge as his safety harness was pulled too tight, according to ABC 6. Firefighters were able to rescue the man by throwing a rope down the side of the building from the roof, CBS 2 reported.
The firefighters had to “attach their safety line to the other worker, pull him up a little, take him off his safety line, and then lower him down and get him into the window,” FDNY Deputy Chief John Shaw said. (RELATED: Firefighters Chase Down, Detain Cyclist Who Allegedly Punched Elderly Woman In NYC)
“The gentleman on the ledge, he was hanging on to the ledge pretty tight,” said firefighter Andrew Dinkel, who helped bring the man inside to safety. “He was very nervous, obviously. The scaffolding he was on was no longer there so he’s not used to just hanging from the side of the building.”
“It was a very good operation by all three units and it showed a lot of teamwork and both victims are both workers who were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, so we had a very successful outcome” an FDNY official said after the operation was completed, according to ABC 6.
FDNY #Rescue1 #Engine74 and #Ladder25 performed a high-angle rescue after a portable scaffold failed at West 78th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Read more: https://t.co/OLj97bJAeP
(scene photos credit: @nycemergencymgt) pic.twitter.com/I30gb4XqVG
— FDNY (@FDNY) September 15, 2020
The incident was the FDNY’s second rescue operation this month. Firefighters in Harlem performed a similar rope rescue Sept. 1 to save a woman trapped on the 16th floor of a burning building, CBS 2 reported.