Falling from Heights or Fall Protection
Falling from Heights or Fall Protection. If you can choose one, which one will it be? Yes, this is a life-or-death decision and the answer you think would be obvious. However, it’s a decision that all too many times workers make and they choose wrong without even thinking of the consequences.
I am going to put forth a scenario. As you read through it, I really want you to put yourself in this person's place and think hard about what decision you would make. With in this scenario, I’ll show you that there is something far worse than sustaining a fatality after falling from heights.
Falling from Heights
I want you to picture this. You’re 29 years old. Your 30th birthday is less then 3 weeks away. 30 is a threshold. Some say it’s the birthday that makes you think about your future. Turning a 20 something boy into a man. You couldn’t be happier. You’re married to the woman you’ve loved since high school. You have a 3-year-old son and a daughter that just turned 6 months old. Plus, you and your wife just completed the purchase of a house 8 km out of town.
Yes, life is nice and you’re able to pay for it with a career in construction. Being a framer is something you’ve always wanted to do. Ever since you built your first fort in the bush next to your childhood home. You knew you were good at it. Climbing over 20 feet up into the trees is as easy as walking on a sidewalk for you. 10 years in the trade and you have a small company with 5 employees.
Just like every other Monday you wake up and get ready for work. The only difference today was you had to complete the sheathing of a 12-12 pitched roof on a 3-story home. On your way to work in your crew cab, you must have picked up a nail and now you’ve got a flat tire. After changing it, you and your crew finally arrive at work 2 hours late. The Friday prior 4 lifts of plywood was arranged to be delivered this morning by 7am.
It’s now 9am and finally you get started but your behind. Going at it faster than usual, and that’s when it happened. One wrong step, the airline was under your feet rolling your ankle to the side you were now on your ass rolling down the roof. Trying to grab onto something, anything, yet there’s nothing but empty space.
You’ve reached the edge and off the roof you go. 36 feet down to the ground. At that height you gain speed reaching 50km an hour and it takes less than 2 seconds before you hit the ground. Adding to this, the site labors failed to clean up over the weekend, so you landed on a few 2x4s. Everything goes black.
At the Hospital
The next day you wake up, you’re in the hospital and your wife is standing right beside the bed. She quickly turns, rushes to the door and calls the doctor. “He’s awake “she yells just before hurrying back beside you. Trying to focus, you see he smiling though the tears running down her cheeks.
“Glad you’re awake” the doctors say. “We need to talk about a few things”. As you just barley feel your wife’s hand cradling the side of your head the doctor continues.
“Do you know or remember what happened to you?’ he asks
“Not really, I think I fell off the roof at work” you respond.
“Yes, you did. Over 30 feet high I was told. You’re alive, but you’ve sustained some serious injuries. Apparently, you landed on a small pile of wood. Your back took the hit. In addition to the lacerations and contusions plus a broken right arm, you have 2 fractures in your upper spin. I’m sorry sir but you’re paralyzed from the neck down.”
“I’m sorry sir, but you will never walk or have any use of your arms again.” In that instant you thought about everything you will never ever get to do or do again.
Hold your 6-month-old baby girl in your arms.
Teach your son how to play baseball.
Walk your kids to school.
Play with them in the back yard you just bought.
Dance and make love to your wife.
Walk your beautiful daughter down the isle on the day of her wedding.
Play with grandchildren.
The list goes on and on. Thousands of things you’ll never ever do again or even for the first time. As you lay there in bed staring out the window, you think to yourself, you wish you were dead”.
It maybe a hard pill to swallow, however there is no way to sugarcoat the truth. This is what could happen to you for not using Fall Protection and Falling from Heights. The facts are, you higher you are, the more you gain speed when falling, and time increases until you kit. Do you recall this image. The Falling Man
The Falling Man
September 11th, 2001, from what witnesses said, The Falling Man jumped from almost the top of the North Tower at the World Trade Center New York. A sky scrapper of 1,368 feet (417 m). At 9:41:15 A.M this photo was taken showing The Falling Man.
From this height he would have been traveling at roughly 202 Mph (325 Kph) and it would have taken 10 to 12 seconds before his final destination. Almost enough time to make a fall call. Definitely, enough time to chuck a pint of beer, or even take your last few deep breaths. In 10 seconds, you would see the ground getting closer. In 10 seconds, you have enough time to think about what’s to come.
Bentall Tower 4 Tragedy
The Falling Man certainly had more time then the 4 victims of the Bentall Tower Tragedy. On January 7, 1981, four construction workers fell 36 floors to their deaths at the Bentall Centre's Tower IV in downtown Vancouver British Columbia. The men fell after the "fly-form" platform they were working on collapsed. The four carpenters killed in the accident were, 49-year-old Gunther Couvreux, Brian Stevenson 21, Donald Davis 34 and Yrjo Mitrunen 46.
Falling from approximately 453 feet high (138 meters) they could have gained a speed of 116 Mph (187 Kph). At those rates it would have taken these 4 men slightly over 5 seconds to reach their end. In addition, just like the Falling Man, the 4 men falling at Bentall was also witnessed by a crowd of people.
Some things are worse than death. Falling from heights and surviving with catastrophic injuries for one. Yet for others who see it happen, and the emotional scars of that image in their minds for the rest of their lives can also be just as painful. Not to mention what the families go through afterwards.
Falling from Heights or Fall Protection. What’s your choice.
If you're a worker whos requiring Fall Protection Training, please contact me for an in-depth 8 hour training program