Federal safety investigators met Thursday with the boss of window washers who survived a harrowing, windblown scaffold ride before being saved by firefighters Wednesday.
Investigators are also looking at a Tuesday accident involving two other workers at the same company, Bob Popp Building Services Inc.
“We are involved in both investigations,” said Herb Gibson, area director of the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
On Wednesday, a scaffold repeatedly smashed into a downtown building more than 100 feet above 18th Street, breaking 20 windows. Oscar Gonzalez, 23, and Hector Estrada, 20, both of Denver, clung to the scaffold as office workers and pedestrians watched in horror. The pair scurried through a window after firefighters grabbed the platform from inside.
Don Popp, office manager for the Denver-based service company with 75 employees, said Gonzalez and Estrada were uninjured but too shaken up to talk about their wild ride.
“They just want to put it all behind them,” Popp said.
A crane removed the scaffold from Denver Place Plaza Tower, 1099 18th St., at about 11 p.m. Wednesday and windows were boarded up, said Lori Carter, a spokeswoman with Amerimar Realty Management Co., which manages the tower. She did not disclose a dollar estimate on damage.
On Tuesday, on the rooftop of 1875 Lawrence St., a Popp worker suffered a broken leg and another a broken pelvis when a scaffold fell on them as they were moving it.
Staff writer Kieran Nicholson can be reached at 303-820-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
