Window-Washer Rescued After Encino Fall

ENCINO — Los Angeles city firefighters rescued a window-washer after he plunged 30 feet and was left dangling outside the fifth story of an office building Monday morning.

The window-washer was rappelling down the side of a building at 16661 Ventura Boulevard when his primary line came loose, firefighters said. Luckily he had a back-up line.

“If he hadn’t had that safety line on his belt, he would’ve been a dead man,” said a co-worker who did not want to be identified.

The co-worker said he and another man held the rope until the Fire Department arrived about 15 minutes later.

Firefighters reached the window-washer with an aerial ladder truck at about 9:30 a.m. and helped him climb down, according to Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells. The man was unharmed, Wells said.