By Luke Voogt
Firefighters rescued three men stranded about 10 metres off the ground in a cherry picker outside the new Barwon Water headquarters Tuesday morning 30 May.
Geelong CFA operations manager Mark Sinkinson said the work platform fell “at least of couple of metres” after the platform truck tipped to its right, about 8.45am.
CFA crews secured the three men from the roof of the building, located near the corner of Ryrie and Fenwick streets.
“One of our concerns was if the basket fell any further the gentlemen would hit the ground,” Mr Sinkinson said.
“We went up with our roping crews and dropped some lines over the edge of the building.
“That was to hook them onto their harnesses so if the worst case scenario happened and the crane did fail the men would be restrained from falling.”
A lone firefighter walked the men one at a time down a ladder extended from a CFA truck.
“That was a bit of delicate operation,” Mr Sinkinson.
“The immediate area’s been evacuated in case the crane fell even further.”
Paramedics treated one man for hand injuries, while the other two men were uninjured but “understandably shaken” after the fall, he said.
“I’m sure there’s been a few scary moments for the three gentlemen involved.”
Police closed Ryrie Street from Fenwick Street to Moorabool Street as a large crowd of workers gathered to watch the rescue.
Mr Sinkinson praised the emergency services for their “co-ordinated”response.
“It was a fantastic effort all round by all agencies.”
Recently, career firefighters conducted high-angle training using the Simonds Stadium light towers.
Mr Sinkinson said the training had become integral for local firefighters given the number of tall buildings under construction in Geelong.
Worksafe investigators remained on the scene after emergency services concluded their operations, a spokesperson said.
