Two workers were rescued Wednesday afternoon after their scaffold collapsed and they were left dangling high up the side of a 17-story condo building.
Fort Lauderdale firefighters rappeled down the White Egret condos at 2200 Northeast 33rd Avenue to reach the workers after getting the trouble call at about 2:20 p.m.
Part of the dramatic rescue was televised nationally.
One of the workers was taken to Holy Cross Hospital with minor injuries, said Battalion Chief William Findlan. The other worker declined to be treated.Findlan did not have their names.
Waletta Wright, the condo secretary, said the two workers were with Plantation-based Reach Service & Equipment Inc. and had gone up to repair the company's scaffolding.
Wright said the scaffolding had gotten stuck and wouldn't go up and down, which is why they were trying to fix it.
It was not clear what caused the scaffold to collapse.
One worker was rescued clinging to the scaffolding on the 14th floor, while the other was hanging from his harness nine stories up.
"It was obviously a precarious situation for them," Findlan said.
George Denesevich, who owns the Peaceful Dove Inn in front of the 160-unit building, said he heard a loud noise and ran outside. He looked up and saw the scaffolding had collapsed.
"As I looked a little closer, I saw the other guy dangling," Denesevich said. "He definitely looked hurt."
Findlan said the workers had probably been hanging for about 45 minutes before firefighters hauled them into the building. Both had their safety harnesses on, he said.
A fire department 100-foot ladder truck assisted in the rescue.
Denesevich said workers have been renovating the building for almost two years, since Hurricane Wilma.
Darlene Fossum, director of the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration's Fort Lauderdale office, said such accidents involving suspended scaffolds have been rare in South Florida.
"We have not had a lot of issues with that in South Florida in the recent past," Fossum said.
Fossum said her office is investigating the accident.
