there was a lot of gasps, a lot of horror. people were staring out at the street saying, no, no, no. heather halpin works on the 18th floor. at one point it was swinging out towards the street. and it actually went up vertical like this. i think that was the scariest point for me because i was thinking for sure somebody would fall out. it really had kind of an apocalyptic feel to it. photojournalist kirby howell works only a few blocks away and gets to the scene quickly, capturing it all on camera. the scaffold swung out maybe halfway between these two buildings here. and my biggest fear was that the cables supporting it were going to snap and it would come crashing down to the street. the window washers are wearing safety harnesses, so presumably, if the scaffold falls, the men would be left hanging from the top of the building. that s probably little comfort
you get all that on film? and, of course, you know in my 20 years plus of boating, it is the most spectacular whitewater wipeout i ve ever seen. i ve shown the video to people and they say, god, how can this cameraman be doing that? and i just laugh because we all go, how can you not? we had figured out everybody s job, we had everything covered as much as we could. but even just watching the tape for the first time in a long time, it just brought chills because it could have gone much worse. thankfully it didn t. coming up sweetwater oak loses the rider. a jockey hanging on for dear life. oh, my gosh. a boy dangles from a chair lift high in the sky. two window washers soar through the air on an out of control scaffold. it was so freaky. it was scary. when caught on camera: wild
everyone involved agrees the situation could have been catastrophic if not for the experience, skill and teamwork of the firefighters and for those window washers who managed to hold on tight. coming up a kite surfer hurled through the air. we saw him go up about 40 feet at least, and then slam to the ground. plus a mother s desperate attempt to save herself and her little boy. when caught on camera: wild rides continues. if everyone jumped off a cliff, would you do it too? you ll lose interest. it s just a phase. it hurts me more than it hurts you. where are your manners - were you raised by wolves? you re going to give me a heart attack. when you have kids, you ll understand. this is the life of a rebel. sorry, mom.
i m contessa brewer. ever look up at the window washers working on high rise buildings and wonder, how can they do that? this is one dangerous job. the work requires no fear of heights, nerves of steel and, as our next story shows, a tight grip. downtown denver, strong winds sends a scaffold careening out of control with two window washers holding on for dear life. just boom, boom, boom. everything just happened quick, man. we turned around, what the hell s going on here, you know? it s november 30th, 2005 and onlookers stand in disbelief outside the denver plaza tower. i m still shooken up just watching all that happen. it was so freaky. it was scary. sudden wind between 25 and 30 miles an hour have a scaffold swinging out 40 feet from the high rise office building, then crashing like a battering ram into the windows.
the scaffold into the building. now they re eye level with the scaffold, close enough to see the fear on the faces of those two men. they were terrified. they didn t think they were going home that day. firefighters try to make a bigger hole in the glass to give the window washers more room, but there s no time. when the scaffold collides again with the building, at the precise spot where firefighters are waiting the two frightened men seize the moment. they didn t wait. they were so afraid that they literally just dove through that small opening. after their 15-minute terrifying wild ride, oscar gonzalez and hector estrada break down. they are grateful to be alive. translator: we really thought the cables would snap and the scaffold would crash down. thank god it didn t. translator: when the wind started we tried to hold on to the cables on the building, but our arms got too tired. we lost energy, it was so cold. so we let it loose.