High-angle rescue has happy ending
Published: August 4, 2005
Three men working on the 25-story Veracruz Condominium building at Cape Marco can thank their lucky stars, their safety equipment, and the many rescue teams that came to their aid, according to Marco Island Fire Rescue Division Chief Chris Byrne.
On the morning of Saturday, July 30 bystanders on Collier Boulevard and some residents in neighboring condos heard and saw the three painters suspended in air, as the braking mechanism failed and their scaffolding dropped out from under them
“The ground literally fell out from under their feet,” said Chief Byrne.
The 911 call came in and around 8:15 a.m. the Marco Island response team arrived at the South Collier Boulevard scene, entered the building, and tried to locate the men’s positions from inside the building - approximately 20 floors up.
Byrne was not on duty but was paged immediately, considering the magnitude of the situation.
“First of all we evaluated their condition and their predicament,” Byrne said. “No one seemed to be injured, but they were understandably very frightened and uncomfortable.”
One of the victims was distant from the other two, hanging in mid-air; the other two were still standing on a small deck.
Fire/Rescue quickly rigged lifelines and tied them off, securely anchoring all the men.
“At this point,” Byrne said, “the situation was not acutely life-threatening so we were able to summon a technical team that is very well-experienced in rappelling. They spend a lot of time training and are very good at it.”
A member of the rappel team helped the two men to the roof. The third man was lowered to another area.
Byrne said if the men had been in a life-threatening situation, Fire/Rescue would have deployed its own team immediately.
“What really saved these men,” Byrne said, “was that they used all the proper safety equipment. It was in tremendous shape and it saved their lives. If they hadn’t worn it, the end of the story would not be a happy one.”
The manpower-intensive event had responders from all local agencies - North Naples, Golden Gate, Isles of Capri Fire Departments, Collier County EMS, and Marco Island Police Department. As the morning wore on, Byrne said it became extremely hot, and many units were needed to haul and set up equipment and to keep both the victims and rescuers well hydrated as they communicated with them.
All of the men were transported to the hospital and later released.
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