According to the annual statistics compiled by telecom tower climbing is "America's most lethal job," beating out loggers, coal miners and offshore fisherman in per capita deaths per 100,000 workers (in comparison with the Bureau of Labor Statistics).Įighteen tower workers were killed on the job in 2008, and several tower workers perished in work-related accidents in 2009. In the past, most calls to tower accidents were recoveries, because tower workers had more of a cowboy attitude and often free-climbed to get the job done quickly. Agencies in the past that would never have had to work side by side are now relying on each other and becoming intimately familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses in regards to tower rescue. Smaller, less-equipped departments are being forced to rely on bigger, better-funded metro rescue teams to help them meet the challenge that rural tower rescue presents. Rescuers were hampered by the fact that the tower had no pre-installed safety climb system, and they had to use multiple anchors on the tower for the lowering since they only had a 400-foot rope to work with. By the time his lifeless body reached the ground, nearly 12 hours had elapsed since the initial 911 call was made and now even the National Guard had become part of the rescue effort. A tower worker was injured at the 1,200-foot level of a tower while installing cable. With the encroachment of more towers away from densely populated areas, it follows that there is an increasing likelihood that both career and non-paid rescuers might be called upon to assist in what was once considered a strictly urban/industrial rescue scenario: a fallen tower worker hanging suspended from a lanyard high above the ground.Īn extreme example of this situation occurred in rural Nebraska in 2002. This demand for expanded coverage is putting more towers into rural areas and even mountaintop sites in the backcountry, in a rush to fill in all those dreaded "dead spots." and that number is expected to nearly double in the next five years, according to the telecom industry is installing cell towers in more and more remote areas. With the ever-increasing demand for cell coverage (there are currently 190,000 cell sites in the U.S. "Getting the right people involved in the pre-planning aspect of tower rescue can save someone's life," he adds. ![]() Six different agencies attended the meeting/training, which was held in September. One of the coordinators for a recent training hosted by the Foothills Fire Protection District for potential tower rescue responders in Jefferson County, CO, Calocci admitted that the very nature of tower rescue, coupled with the remote locations of the towers, begs for a new way to approach mutual aid response. "It's a difficult pill to swallow when someone else shows up to your response area for a tower rescue," said West Metro Fire District Firefighter Sean Calocci. But the obvious dangers of extreme height, high voltage, microwave radiation, radio-frequency exposure and gusting winds pale in comparison to what many responders deem the hardest aspect of most tower rescues: interagency cooperation on what is often a mutual aid call. If you have any information about Ahonen, please contact the Denver Police Department at 72.In the very best of scenarios, tower rescue for the professional can be a daunting task. Saturday was Ahonen's 38th birthday, which left Ahonen's friends deeply concerned when they were unable to reach her.Ahonen is described as a white woman, slender, 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds with blue eyes and blonde hair. Alpine Rescue Team spokesperson Bill Barwick says Ahonen's keys, wallet and cell phone were found inside the Liberty leading him to believe that she didn't plan on walking too far that day. Ahonen had yet to be reported missing at the time, so the state trooper simply marked it as unattended and left. Friday night, a patrolman with the Colorado State Patrol, tagged Ahonen's 2005 Jeep Liberty in a turnout area of Highway 6, about 15 miles west of Golden. Ahonen's two sisters traveled to help with the search. Ahonen's friends and family are still desperately searching for her. Bottom line, she said, it could mean very little because of that. Jefferson County spokesperson Jackie Kelley also says a bloodhound called to the scene did locate a scent that led down to the creek, but added that the weekend brought with it a lot of heavy rain to the area. And walked alongside the swift-moving Clear Creek to make sure there were no traces of her.
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