Firefighters Save Boston Window Washers from 37th Floor

Two window washers were rescued by Boston firefighters this morning from the 37th floor of a Financial District high rise after their platform nearly gave way.

Photo: Firefighters Save Boston Window Washers from 37th Floor

Firefighters smashed through two windows on the 37th floor at 53 State Street to rescue the men who were holding on in a basket, a witness said.

“There was a basket that was hanging at an angle and there were two men in it,” said Ed Killilea, 82, who runs the loading dock at One Post Office Square. “The Fire Department broke the window from the inside and they pulled the men out,” Boston Herald reports.

First one man was dragged in through a window, and, seven minutes later, the second was drawn to safety. In total, the high-rise rescue took 20 minutes.

“It seemed like a week,’’ said Lieutenant John Soares, one of the firefighters on the 37th floor. “They were shaken and rightfully so. They just wanted to get off the scaffolding as soon as they could. They were thankful and grateful,” The Boston Globe reports.

One of the workers was transported to a hospital for minor injuries, and the other refused medical care, officials said. Neither was seriously hurt.

Authorities stabilized the scaffolding and hoisted it onto the roof Wednesday afternoon, fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald said. Officials were still investigating what caused the platform to tilt, The Associated Press reports.