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UPDATE: 2 Workers Saved From Midtown Scaffolding Stuck on 22nd Floor: FDNY

By  Ben Fractenberg and Anton K. Nilsson | November 18, 2015 3:10pm 

 The incident happened 420 Fifth Ave. Wednesday afternoon, fire officials said.   
Two Workers Saved From Midtown Scaffolding Stuck on 22nd Floor
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MIDTOWN — Two window washers were rescued after being trapped on scaffolding 22 floors above ground in Midtown Wednesday afternoon, according to the FDNY.

The workers got trapped at 420 Fifth Ave. at 38th Street at about 2 p.m. after a motor on the scaffold broke, a fire department spokesman and sources said.

"The workers were stuck, they were panicking," said Raquel Jimenez, 30, who works in a nearby department store and watched the scene unfold.

"It was a very scary moment," Jimenez said. "I thought, Oh my gosh, let them be safe, don't let them fall."

 

Super scary! The window cleaners are stuck all the way up there 🙀🙀 420 #5thavenue

A photo posted by Raquel (@r_kel) on

FDNY Special Operations responders first dropped security lines from the roof of the building to secure the scaffold, Battalion Chief Tom Lapolla said at the scene.

They then cut through two panes of glass on the 22nd floor and saved the workers a little after 3 p.m. 

Neither worker was injured.

"They’re very highly trained," Lapolla said about the special ops team. "They’re very good at what they do."

Fire officials initially said the men were trapped under the scaffolding. 

38th Street was closed between Fifth and Sixth avenues during the rescue.