Window washer rescued after getting stuck 23 stories up when his harness breaks
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV/Gray News) - A window washer left dangling 23 stories in the air was saved by two unlikely heroes who jumped in to help the fire department.
Etienne Wagers and Lucas Berry of Santa Fe Glass were doing glass work on the 12th floor of One Kansas City Place, the tallest skyscraper in Kansas City, Missouri. That’s when they were asked if they could help out with a rescue taking place on the 26th floor, KCTV reports.
A window washer’s main harness broke as he was working about 10:15 a.m. Tuesday, preventing him from raising or lowering himself as he normally would. Firefighters arrived and found him hanging 23 stories in the air.
The firefighters were planning to hoist him up to the roof, which was several hundred feet. One Kansas City Place is 47 stories. But Wagers and Berry were able to help in a different way. They removed a window from the 23rd floor, allowing firefighters to pull the man in from the side of the building.
“It was kind of like an adrenaline-rushing experience going up there,” Berry and Wagers said. “As soon as we got up there, we took out the rubber, popped the s and pulled the window off. The guy, he didn’t look too stressed, but as soon as we pulled him up, you could tell there’s a sense of relief.”
The window washer had been dangling on his backup harness for 45 minutes. The fire department says his coworker remained with him on the side of the building to help keep him calm.
Wagers and Berry went back to their work on the 12th floor after the rescue. Both say they don’t think they could be window washers after seeing what an open window looks like on the 26th floor.
“As soon as we pulled off that window, I felt that gust. I was like, ‘I want to take a step back,’” Berry said. “I won’t even willingly get out there. I’m staying inside.”
No one was injured in the incident.
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