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Whatever You Do, Don’t Look Down – 2 Window Washers Rescued From 14 Story High Rise
By JJohnson | August 7, 2009
If you were driving on Ocean Blvd through downtown Long Beach on the morning of August 7th, 2009 at around 8:30am and looked up, you would think they were filming a movie, but that wasn’t the case. This wasn’t a stunt from some action movie, nor was it a training exercise, this was a life threatening emergency that the Long Beach Fire Department USAR (Urban Search And Rescue) trains for.
LBFD responded to a call for two men that were hanging from a broken window washing scaffolding at 300 E. Oceangate. Truck 1 and Engine 1 were first on scene and reported that the scaffoldingwas hanging to one side and both men were dangling from it. They immediately went to the roof to begin assessing the situation and figuring out the best course of action to rescue the men.
E6 & USAR 6 got on scene quickly and also went to the roof with their rescue equipment and ropes. One of the menwas actually hanging only by his safety harness with the scaffolding dangling below him. Once additional safety lines were in place, the LBFD pulled the victim up to the roof, while they figured out the best way to reach the second man. The second man was also wearing his safety harness and was still inside the scaffolding and hanging on. He appeared to be alert and for the most part calm, considering the situation.
The second man was rescued after one of the firefighters went over the top of the building and rappelled down the 20 feet to the victim. The firefighter then tied off some rescue rope to the man and the crew up top began to pull the man up. Once they got him to the ledge, they were able to grab onto him and pull him over onto the roof. Both of the victims had no injuries and did not require and medical treatment.
This type of emergency is considered a low-frequency, high-risk and requires constant training to perform. The USAR and Truck companies in downtown Long Beach, as well as throughout the city, train for these and other types of emergencies on a daily basis.
Total units on scene: E1, T1, R1, BC1, E6, USAR6, R2, PIO4
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