Two window washers found themselves in a precarious situation this morning when the scaffolding they were working on stalled outside a downtown Pittsburgh office tower. Pittsburgh EMS, Fire, and Police were dispatched to 500 Ross Street at 11:35 a.m. after reports came in about the workers trapped between the seventh and eighth floors. The platform had lost power, stranding the workers outside the building, as detailed by the City of Pittsburgh Public Safety Blotter.
Upon arrival, rescuers from EMS Rescue 2 and Unit 5302 quickly confirmed the situation and went into action, working closely to with building engineers to address the technical malfunction. In a fine choreographed effort, engineers managed to successfully reset the system and, after an anxious hour, the workers were safely brought up to the roof. Additional EMS units were also on hand, having staged on a lower roof area to quickly intervene if the need to lower the scaffolding had arisen.
Traffic on the affected section of Ross had to be rerouted, as police set up perimeters ensuring no vehicles or bystanders would be put at risk during the rescue operations. While the aerial rescue unfolded, pedestrians craned their necks skyward, hoping for a safe resolution.
The rescue drew to a close at 12:35 p.m. with the workers being evaluated by medics on the scene; luckily, neither of them sustained injuries. A report on the incident could be found on the Public Safety Blotter.
