OHS findings into The Rooms incident released

The Department of Government Services, Occupational Health and Safety Division, released the investigation findings into an incident involving a window washer at The Rooms. The investigation concludes that the workers fall protection saved his life.

On July 6, 2006, the Occupational Health and Safety Division responded to an incident at The Rooms in St. John�s where a worker was left suspended after a fall. The investigation identified that because the worker was wearing fall protection equipment, he escaped serious injury or death.

The worker, a window washer, was suspended from the building in a Boatswain�s Chair that was anchored to the roof. The cleaning action caused the chair to sway and rubbed the connecting rope against a sharp edge on the building. The sharp edge chafed through the rope and a protective sleeve causing him and the chair to fall. Because of the fall arrest system, he dropped only a couple of feet before his fall came to a stop.

The investigation further identified the importance of having rescue procedures included in fall protection program. While the system worked, the worker was left suspended longer than he should have been and was lucky that the incident happened in the St. John�s area where the regional fire department has a High Angle Rescue Team. The OHS Division reminds employers that they should be prepared in an event of a fall arrest and have rescue procedures developed to ensure suspended workers are retrieved as quickly as possible. A comprehensive rescue plan is equally as important as a Fall Protection Plan for anyone who works at heights.

Media contact: Vanessa Colman-Sadd, Communications, (709) 729-4860, 682-6593

2006 08 09                                         10:00 a.m.