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Tag: Dramatic rescue

  • Window Washers: Rescue Won’t Deter From Doing Job

    Three brave souls employed to wash the outsides of skyscrapers found themselves in a hair-raising situation when their platform collapsed in the midst of their routine.

    The terrifying event was said to have occurred at around 8:30 am at the Capitol One building on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, La. on Friday.

    According to Jorge Gomez, there was simply no warning that their platform was getting ready to go. One moment, he and fellow window washers Willis Everidge and Kevin Hines were doing their jobs. The next, the three had only their safety harnesses keeping them from falling to their deaths.

    “It happened so fast, in about two seconds,” said Everidge. “There was no warning. It was like jumping out of an airplane.”

    The poor men were left dangling approximately 49 stories up in the air, hoping that their harnesses proved to be more sturdy than their platform.

    58-year-old Gomez said during the incident he simply prayed, “Dear Jesus, please don’t let me die.”

    The three Acme Window Cleaners employees were left in their precarious position for roughly twenty minutes. Finally, rescuers were able to reach the trio, smashing windows inside the Capital One building in order to pull them to safety.

    The three men were carefully examined following their life-threatening experience, but found to be unharmed by the incident. Unsurprisingly, they were rather shaken by what had just happened.

    Even though this event was scary, it apparently has not colored their view of their dangerous occupation. Gomez and Everidge both revealed that they’ve been washing windows for decades.

    Both men say that they will continue to wash windows.

    Gomez stated that he’ll likely be back to work on Monday.

    As for the safety harness that saved his life, Gomez admits that he’s relied on the same one for about 17 years. No doubt he’s thankful that it was up to the task when it really counted.

    Image via Youtube

  • Houston Fire Blazes For Hours Amid Dramatic Rescue

    A fire broke out around 12 pm in a 396-unit apartment complex in downtown Houston on Tuesday. The $50 million luxury Axis Apartment project was still under construction in Houston’s Montrose district, and it was completely destroyed.

    Authorities said it was fueled by gusty winds that turned from a small rooftop fire to a blaze that completely engulfed the large apartment complex.

    The entire structure collapsed and was reduced to ashes just months before it was to open to tenants in June.

    Houston Fire Department (HFD) Capt. Ruy Lozano said a construction worker was rescued by ladder after he had jumped from the fourth-floor balcony to a balcony on the third floor, as onlookers gasped.

    He was rescued “pretty much seconds before the fire would have overtaken him,” Lozano said.

    Once the worker was safe, HFD “immediately went into a defensive posture” and began dousing the fire and some of the adjoining housing units, Lozano said. “This was a huge undertaking.”

    “There was a report of a couple of guys working on the roof doing welding,” said HFD Deputy Chief Greg Lewis. “When our units arrived, there was a small fire and construction workers were attempting to put it out. There was sustained wind of 15 to 20 miles an hour, and it was a wind-driven fire.”

    All construction workers who had been in the high-rise building were accounted for, and no injuries have been reported, Lozano said.

    Reports said that it took more than 200 emergency responders to battle the fire, and more than 2 1/2 hours before they got it under control.

    “The fire started on the northeast corner of the roof,” said David Byers, the building superintendent for an complex close by, “I was on an upper floor and I had a good view.”

    The HFD said that the thick black smoke and enormous blaze prompted immediate evacuation to nearby buildings, as firefighters sprayed them to prevent ember fires. No other buildings were damaged, but plastic fixtures melted on some nearby vehicles.

    Paul Johnston, chief operating officer for JLB Partners in Dallas, appeared stunned after surveying what remained of his huge apartment complex project:

    “This was a first for us, unfortunately,” Johnston said, adding that the building was insured.

    Ninety construction workers were in the building when the fire started, he said, and the company’s priority is “that everyone is safe, and we cooperate with the authorities.”

    Image via YouTube