Window washers in 1 World Trade scaffold rescue speak out
NEW YORK -- One of the World Trade Center window washers left dangling for over an hour from the nation's highest building says he's willing to go back to the job, while the other says working on the ground might be better.
Juan Lizama and Juan Lopez spoke Friday about their harrowing rescue from 1 World Trade Center.
"God bless America," said Lizama, a native of El Salvador.
Lopez - who's now contemplating less-lofty jobs - says he panicked at first. But once he saw firefighters, he knew it "was just a matter of time" before a rescue.
Asked if he looked down, Lopez said he had no choice because of the angle - but "I'm used to that view."
On Wednesday, a cable suddenly loosened on their scaffold, plunging it into an almost vertical position outside the 104-floor tower, 68 stories above the street. During the agonizing ordeal, one man called his wife, fearing it might be his last opportunity to speak to her.
Firefighters used diamond cutters to saw through a double-layered window and pulled the men to safety.
The dramatic rescue came a little more than a week after the building officially opened and was followed by New Yorkers on the ground and many others watching on live TV around the world.
Officials haven't determined what caused the cable problem, and it was unclear whether anything about the design of the 1,776-foot skyscraper complicates working on the window-washing scaffolds, which went into service in June.
Their union, Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, said it makes sure workers follow rigorous safety protocols.
Lizama said he and Lopez have always been safety conscious and had checked their equipment.
