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koontz946

For anyone who works at heights

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https://www.osha.gov/StopFallsStandDown/

 

I'm in the elevator industry, as a constructor (union,) and just this past week, there were 3 accidents in the NJ/NY area.

 

First accident cost us a USAF Iraq veteran, who fell to his death in midtown Manhattan.

 

Second accident, an asbestos abatement contractor fell to his death in Newark.

 

Third accident, (still being investigated,) a worker fell 2-4 floors and was rescued by FDNY, and at the time of this posting, was expected to survive.

 

I know people who would have died if they weren't wearing their harnesses, and weren't hooked up.

 

Please take a few minutes to discuss this with your coworkers.

 

Work safe.

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Fortunately my harness never "saved" me, I always wondered if it might actually break my back. I always kept the line barely long enough to go over the side.

 

One of the places I worked was on 10' diameter round top tanks. And I mean round top. And I didn't work on the top, I worked on the sides of the tank just over the edge. For me it was very unnerving. Sometimes I would get there and they didn't steam the ice off of them, and I would tell them to get bent.

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I used to be a broadcast radio engineer, and I believe the tower maintenance people are in the top 5 riskiest jobs in the country.

 

I only went up a few feet a number of times, and my knees turned to jelly. Not for me.

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I've been up radio towers in a war zone. Now, these where exposed but had stairs. I wasn't using ladders or anything. Nothing scary at all about the heights. Until the wind got that sucker swaying 10' to the left and 10' to the right it seemed. I froze in my tracks and could barely put one foot in front of the other for a while. Can't imagine that on a ladder. It would take me a while to get used to that.

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I have over 20 years in EMS with quite a bit of that time in Atlantic City.  I have seen a few elevator shaft falls, they are always bad and survivors suffer life-long injuries.  Koontz is right, use the safety gear or I get to see you naked. 

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I do tree work. Less as i get older and i am always tied in two places It takes more time but worth it. Being 50-100' up put a whole new perspective on life. Especially when the wind gets going. I dont have a bucket truck so when i climb. I climb safely. As much as possible. Its a thrill.

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Sucks to hear bout those guys...conversations about heights and work always make me think of this vid...crazy stuff

 

My palms actually started sweating watching that again.

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Watching that video brought back the sweats from my younger days.

The former family business did televisions and related systems and hardware for the hotel industry.

My most terrifying (but necessary) climb was at the Lord Baltimore Hotel during its renovation in the mid-80's

Elevator to the top-most floor, staircase one floor up to the elevator equipment floor, then straight up a vertical ladder in the middle of the room

Three stories straight up through a 2ft square hatch in the 8ft square roof to where the TV receiving antennas (the old fashion analog type) were masted.

Once up there, it was a beautiful view of the entire Baltimore area.

But the first trip up that ladder was scary as hell !

 

http://LordBaltoRoof_zpscymukqoz.jpg

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I always ware one when hunting from a treestand. That's one place a lot of guys think it's not a big deal. But a 15' to 20' fall when you nod off is a hell of a wake up. A few guys die each year and more are severely injured as a result. When it happens the anti hunters celebrate! It's pretty sick actually. I won't ever give them a reason to throw a party when I eventually fall off my platform. Always strap in with my Hunter Safety system. Posted Image

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Sucks to hear bout those guys...conversations about heights and work always make me think of this vid...crazy stuff

 

-video-

I just lost about a gallon of sweat through my palms.

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I do tree work. Less as i get older and i am always tied in two places It takes more time but worth it. Being 50-100' up put a whole new perspective on life. Especially when the wind gets going. I dont have a bucket truck so when i climb. I climb safely. As much as possible. Its a thrill.

My parents witnessed a guy killed doing that recently next door to a cousin's house. Not pros. They were acting like idiots trimming a tree and one guy got his chest stuck when a partially cut branch slumped. Uninjured, suffocated to death right in the tree.

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Once you understand that a 6' fall can make you just as dead as a 1300' fall, it's all the same (at least in my opinion)

Falling 6' gives you less time to think about your mistake.

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