Two window washers were plucked from the side of a downtown Oakland high-rise in a dramatic rescue Thursday, an hour after an equipment malfunction left them stranded almost 20 stories up.
NBC Bay Area's chopper flew over Oakland City Center, at 1111 Broadway, a 24-story structure near 11th Street, capturing images of a rescue that conjured up images of Spider-Man. A firefighter rappelled down the glass exterior and hoisted the workers into a basket, as emergency crews peered over the roof of the structure.
Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Coy Justice said the department had trained for something like this, but never had to deal with such a real-life operation.
Firefighter Brian Fukuhara was one of the crew members who actually rescued the workers. "They were very thankful," he said.
A security officer said the men got stuck because of either a motor or cable problem with their equipment. The worker did not want to be named. The men got stuck at about 10:48 a.m.
Attorney Neal Parish was inside the building at the time, when firefighters told him the workers got stuck somewhere between the 19th and 20th floors. Parish went into a colleague's office and snapped a photo. "I was just lucky on the timing," he said.
The 1st window washer being brought to the roof looked happy to be rescued - pic from inside 24th floor at 1111 B'way pic.twitter.com/M8evfRXhtm — Neal Parish (@NAParish) October 2, 2014
Police shut down Broadway between 11th and 12th streets while first responders figure out how to rescue the men.
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The high-profile high-rise is home to many prominent law firms, including Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLP, DeHay & Ellison, and other corporate tenants including Merrill Lynch and HNTB.
2nd window washer getting rescued!Dozens of worried spectators. Broadway at 11th closed for short stretch #oakland pic.twitter.com/OhZ77vBZSk — Stephanie Chuang (@StephChuang) October 2, 2014
Unfortunately, I didn't get a good pic of the fireman walking up the building, since he went past a different window. pic.twitter.com/niocPBOoOv — Neal Parish (@NAParish) October 2, 2014
Bay City News contributed to this report.
