Window washer WTF: Balcony cleaner caught hanging off the railing (PHOTOS)
If you see something, say something, especially when the stakes are as high as this. Last week, a Reddit user posted photos purporting to show a person cleaning a high-rise balcony in Burnaby with no fall protection in place.
In the photo, it looks like they’re dangerously hanging onto the railing with one hand while scrubbing with the other.
According to the photo, and considering the background featuring a bridge, this building may be located on the corner of Davie Street and Pacific Street in Vancouver.
Reddit | Probable location of the incident/Google Maps
According to Preventable, the Community Against Preventable Injuries, this incident is “particularly concerning because of the danger, not just to the people involved, but also passersby on the ground.”
“Falls from such a height can easily result in serious injury or death. Those involved should have recognized the danger of hanging from the balcony to clean the railing and adjusted their behaviour accordingly,” Preventable told Daily Hive.
Per WorkSafeBC, Occupational Health and Safety Regulation “requires workers to use fall protection systems when they could fall from a height of three metres or more.”
“In this instance, the individuals involved should have arranged for a professional window cleaner. Professional window cleaners have the appropriate training, equipment, and expertise to safely clean high-rise exteriors,” said Preventable, which recommends not leaning over, climbing over, or hanging from balcony railings for any reason.
“We have found that unsafe behaviour like (this) is driven by an attitude that ‘injuries happen to other people, but not to me.’ However, this is just not the case — no one plans to get injured. If we change this attitude around injuries, we can see the risk and prevent injuries from happening in the first place,” said Preventable.
In the future, rather than blasting unsafe behaviour on social media, it’s a good idea to try and educate those involved respectfully and non-judgmentally. And if that’s not possible, for situations like these and when someone is in immediate danger, you should call 911 immediately.