Derry window cleaner dies after ladder fall

The late Paddy McDermott.

Published on Friday 3 February 2012 09:46

Derry City FC steward Paddy McDermott passed away in hospital this afternoon just days after sustaining serious head injuries in a fall.

The 45-year-old, who owned a window cleaning business, fell from a ladder while cleaning guttering at a house in the Oakbridge area of the city on Monday.

Mr. McDermott, from Hazelbank, was initially taken to Altnagelvin Hospital but was later transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast where he died yesterday.

Billy Scampton, Events Controller with Derry City FC, last night described his close friend as the “salt of the earth.”

Mr. Scampton said his friend was “very well known” and “very well liked - particularly within Derry City FC circles.”

“I’m sure I speak for everyone at the club - in particular the stewards - when I say we’re heartbroken at the loss of Paddy.

“Not only have we lost a good friend but the club has lost a very valuable individual who played a key role at Brandywell on match days.

“I’ve been working with Paddy for 15 years and I can say without hesitation that he will be a very big loss to the club.

“We worked hand in glove together and we were part of the FAI-winning Match Day Management Team for the 2010 season.

“We had just been working on contingency and emergency plans for the forthcoming season for Derry City Council.

“In fact, I was just about to phone him when I received the news of his accident.”

Mr. Scampton said his friend “would have given you the shirt off his back.”

“He was a tireless worker on behalf of the club and our thoughts are with his family at this very difficult time,” he added.

Sinn Fein MLA Raymond McCartney, a friend of Mr. McDermott, said he was deeply saddened to hear of his death.

“I would like to take this opportunity to pass on my regards to Paddy’s family,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time.”

OAP window cleaner dies after plunge

Published on Saturday 4 February 2012 06:00

A WINDOW cleaner who had been in the business for more than 40 years has died after falling from his ladder.

Keith Harrison, 72, was cleaning windows when he fell and banged his head. He was rushed to Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital but died three days later, following a stroke.

Eunice Clifton, 67, his close friend and neighbour in Ardsley, Barnsley, said: “He was jolly, kind and just a lovely man. People are in absolute shock.

“He loved being a window cleaner, I think it was the social aspect of it. He just couldn’t retire because he liked it so much.

“The day he had the accident he had been mending my fencing. He had got to the last panel and was coming back in the afternoon but never got the chance.”

Mr Harrison, who had lived on the same street since he was a boy, was a former miner who worked in Barnsley Council’s refuse department and started an afternoon window cleaning round.

He cleaned windows all over Barnsley and was working at a house in Darfield when the accident happened last week.

A funeral will he held on Monday at Ardsley Crematorium.

Source: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/at-a-glance/main-section/oap_window_cleaner_dies_after_plunge_1_4212506

Giant fall but she's fearless

The teenager who miraculously survived a 30m fall on to concrete can't wait to get back into abseiling.

For the first time, 18-year-old Louisa Kuypers, a window washer, has spoken about what happened last Friday afternoon, after she launched herself off the roof of an office building in Auckland's Newmarket.

"The rope was meant to stretch then tighten up, but I could feel it had gone further.

"I don't remember the fall exactly, but apparently people in the office heard me scream."

Unconscious, Kuypers was rushed to Auckland City Hospital's intensive care unit. She had five dislocated ribs, a hairline fracture in her eye socket and broken bones in her neck, ankle, shoulder and collarbone.

"There's a pretty small chance of surviving a fall from that height," Kuypers said from her hospital bed yesterday.

The roof did not have "eye bolts" where the abseiling ropes would usually be attached, she said. "The guy I was working with isn't coping too well. There's no blame, but he blames himself."

It was the second miraculous escape from abseiling in three months.

Mikaela Blayney, 20, fell from the Event Cinema building in Aotea Square in December during an acrobatic performance.

But both Blayney and Kuypers said they planned to get back into abseiling.

"We're always outside, always abseiling. I want to get back to work," Kuypers said.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10786529

Window washer plunges to his death in Franklin Park

A Butler County man fell to his death on Wednesday afternoon while washing windows on a third-floor roof at the Blaymore II building in Franklin Park.

The 48-year-old Zelienople resident, whose name was being withheld pending notification of relatives, was pronounced dead at the scene despite resuscitation efforts by medical personnel from The Cosmetic Surgery & Skin Health Center and paramedics, witnesses said.

The man, an employee of Roach Brothers Inc. of Upper St. Clair, fell shortly before 4 p.m. A co-worker was still on the lift.

"The gentleman was on a mini-roof above my office, and another gentleman was in the bucket. He fell right by my window. I called for my staff to call 911 and ran down to him. When I got there, he had no pulse," said Patrick Stewart, chief executive officer for Pepperweed Consulting.

"There's a surgical unit on the first floor. I yelled for them, and they came running out and tried to resuscitate him. Paramedics arrived quickly and tried to help him," said Stewart.

Investigators said preliminary indications are that the worker was not wearing a safety harness when he fell. Stewart said he did not see a harness on the man, who landed in gravel and shrubbery at the foot of the building.

Most of the Blaymore building on Carmody Court is four stories, but the corner where the man was working is three stories tall. He was working on a flat roof with steep sides.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified, Franklin Park police said.

"I can only pray to God that he's in heaven," Stewart said. "I think you have to thank God every day for the gifts you are given because life is very fragile. It makes you realize how important your faith is, your family is. I'm going to go home and kiss my wife and kiss my children."

Read more: Window washer plunges to his death in Franklin Park - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_753229.html#ixzz1W0yZHGrX

Filipino window-cleaner falls to death in Dubai

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipino in Dubai died when he fell off a building where he was working as a window-cleaner.

Raymond Manzareno, 23, was cleaning a window in the 42-floor Citadel Tower Building when he fell and died.

Manzareno had only been working for 3 months in the Liverpool Cleaning Services.

The accident occurred near 12 noon last Sunday.

Though Manzareno fell from the first floor only, he hit the ground head first, causing his death.

The Citadel Tower Building is located in the Business Bay.

It was not clear if Manzareno was using a safety harness, according to the initial reports from his company. They are also not sure on the exact details of his fall.

Manzareno’s remains were brought to the police station's morgue. His employer is trying to find a way to bring his body back to the Philippines. With a report from Rachel Salinel, ABS-CBN News Middle East Bureau

Source:http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/07/05/11/filipino-window-cleaner-falls-death-dubai