Workers rescued after scaffolding malfunction outside Milwaukee County Courthouse

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Two workers were safely rescued after getting trapped on a broken piece of scaffolding near the top of the Milwaukee County Courthouse on Thursday, Oct. 10. 

Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said dispatchers got calls about the trapped workers just after 2:45 p.m. He said investigators were still looking to determine why the scaffold the workers were on malfunctioned, causing the scaffolding to lean perilously at a 45-degree angle. 

First responders were at the scene within one minute of the call, and Lipski said crews' first order of business was setting up a way to communicate with the workers. First, rescuers talked to the crews using a PA system. Then, they lowered a radio to the scaffolding from the top of the courthouse.

Lipski said there was a language barrier, so a Spanish-speaking firefighter went to the roof to communicate the rescue plan.  

Other construction workers for the contractor, Berglund Construction, prepared to raise another piece of scaffolding. Lipski said the fire department was planning to do the rescue but took a step back after being satisfied with the construction crew's plan to reach their coworkers.

"I want to be 1000% transparent," said Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski. "We were ready to go over the edge and conduct a rope rescue, but these folks are highly skilled, this is their work environment." 

Once the new piece of scaffolding was lined up with the broken one, the workers climbed up to a narrow ledge on the courthouse facade and shimmied over to the new scaffold.

From there, crews raised the scaffolding to the roof, and the workers climbed out safely. Lipski said both workers waived away medical attention at the scene. He added while many would find the sight to be terrifying, the construction crew was fairly calm the entire time.

"Just their exposure, repeatedly, to working in that environment," Lipski said. "It isn't quite as scary for them as it would be for the average person, you know, 11 stories up looking down at the ground."

After the workers were safe, the broken piece of scaffolding remained suspended in the air. Lipski said he was confident it wouldn't collapse because it had been secured "twice over." Still, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office planned to keep the immediate area blocked off.

"We were concerned that, potentially, some equipment was gonna come down. That didn't happen, thankfully," Inspector Aaron Dobson said. "But we're gonna remain on scene throughout the night to ensure that nothing comes down, and if it does, there's no one around and everyone's safe."

Berglund Construction did not immediately respond to questions Thursday.