Wind and Ladders

[qwerty hvac]

So it is very windy here in WNY today. We get a no heat call at high building. I have nice new 32' extension ladder that cost the company $775. I advise my boss of the conditions and what happened the last time ( that's why I have the new ladder). He said get another guy and fix it. So my partner and I are trying to set up this ladder in 45mph winds and I say f this. I call him back and say it is to dangerous, remember safety first! So he comes out to help. Wind is blowing like crazy, I said I am not going up in this you go. So he climes up while the two of us are holding the ladder. Sure enough a huge gust comes and he is about 10' up and it blows him like a sail and we can't stop it from falling. He was able to climb down a few steps before it totally went. Now he is hurt and my nice new ladder is cracked. I told him it was not worth it. Just get some temp heat and fix it on a better day.. What do you guys do?


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[ncboston]

Luckily for me, I don't work for those types of bosses anymore. This should have beeone of those learnig opportunities for him. Maybe the next time he'll trust your jugment.

[trouble time]

When that little voice in your head says "walk away and do it another day" LISTEN!
(experience is a hard teacher)

[qwerty hvac]

I new it would be trouble. Not my first rodeo.


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[greg r]

I'm on your side. You made a good call.

I've found little in this trade to make me a hero.

[engineerdave]

When the boss turns out to be an idiot, it's time to move on.

[walterc]

Now you knew this was going to happen, yet you made no effort to video it for us to enjoy? :gah:

Don't take it wrong- hope the boss is ok, but he/you could use the video as a reminder and trainer. :grin2:


What do I do? I don't. :cheers:

[zw17]

When the boss turns out to be an idiot, it's time to move on.

Or watch your six very closely.

Good call on letting him get hurt. Better him than you.

[hvac wiz 79]

45mph is no joke. id walk around the building to see if it cut down the gusts at all or see if i can lean it against something sturdy in the direction of the wind but I'm not certain id try it. id have be extremely certain little to no wind is gusting on that side ..... ive fallen from a ladder years ago from high up ... i finished up the repair, removed the bungee that secured it to the building & started to descend. the wind spun the ladder .. i was about 20' up .. rode the ladder like a surf board n jumped landing on my feet. but i was frozen in place the impact went up my spine .. after a minute i was ok & i got lucky i suppose ... few months ago the 50 yr old helper i sometimes get had gotten pulled to go fetch parts. he took his ladder down n put mine up but i was in the middle of a repair .. come to see he put it in the middle of the building not against anything. on my way down i almost repeated what happened years earlier ...

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[FrostyBeer]

So it is very windy here in WNY today. We get a no heat call at high building. I have nice new 32' extension ladder that cost the company $775. I advise my boss of the conditions and what happened the last time ( that's why I have the new ladder). He said get another guy and fix it. So my partner and I are trying to set up this ladder in 45mph winds and I say f this. I call him back and say it is to dangerous, remember safety first! So he comes out to help. Wind is blowing like crazy, I said I am not going up in this you go. So he climes up while the two of us are holding the ladder. Sure enough a huge gust comes and he is about 10' up and it blows him like a sail and we can't stop it from falling. He was able to climb down a few steps before it totally went. Now he is hurt and my nice new ladder is cracked. I told him it was not worth it. Just get some temp heat and fix it on a better day.. What do you guys do?


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Typical boss..:gah:

[qwerty hvac]

Now you knew this was going to happen, yet you made no effort to video it for us to enjoy? :gah:

Don't take it wrong- hope the boss is ok, but he/you could use the video as a reminder and trainer. :grin2:


What do I do? I don't. :cheers:

I would have loved to but I was to busy trying to hold the ladder. Lol


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[mikeybow]

Hey, that's what bosses are for. Those who can't boss those who can!

[luskys a/c]

If its not safe then I am not doing it. You cant get wrote up for following safety protocol.

You did the right thing in my book.

[neophytes serendipity]

What do you guys do?


I have been fired for refusing to do stupid and unnecessarily dangerous stuff like that.

Before I got smart and refused, I took a fall on a roof that would have killed me if I was not luckily lined up above a chimney. That chimney stopped me. I was alone, back when cell phones were $1+ a minute- too expensive for casual users and too expensive to get one from the company... if I could have used the phone or my body after impact 3 stories down. There was no one else on site that day. It was a Friday, so I probably would have been on the ground until Monday.

It happened in a finstant. A finstant is faster than a focking instant. Anyone that thinks you will have the presence of mind to grab something on the way down or stab the pointy end of a hammer into the roof on your way down is kidding themselves.

I know several people that have rode the extension ladder down, and some injuries are severe and life long. Some injuries will take years to show up.

I also know someone that fell 2 stories into a basement when the temporary stairs collapsed on a Friday. No one knew until Monday.

Several people on a commercial helicopter lift almost fell off a simple flat roof with a 1/4" : 12 pitch. It was icy (frost) and the company "had to get it done". Once they fell down, they couldn't get back up and started sliding towards the edge. No one was tied off. There was no parapet wall. Fortunately, they encountered a spot without ice and stopped.

The two main common items in these instances resulting in injury are:
(1) The employer fought comp claims and disability
(2) No one had "Hero Pay" as a line item on the check, nor have I seen it on mine, ever.

While I am physically able to do so, I will refuse to do any work involving a 32' or taller extension ladder alone, and yes, I can do a 40' by myself. I don't care what the boss says about that anymore.

[trouble time]

I will not climb higher than what a 32' ladder will do. This is for my safety and that of the people I may fall on.....lol