3 rescued in 17th-floor scaffold collapse

Three workers dangling more than 150 feet above a Manhattan street after the scaffold they were standing on suddenly slipped were saved by police and firefighters on Friday, officials said.

NYPD Emergency Service Unit Dets. James Coll, 36, of Seaford, and his partner Shawn Soler, 36, of Coram, pulled off the rescue with the help of FDNY firefighters, officials said.

The detectives fastened a rope to the roof of the 20-story Manhattan House condominium at 200 E. 66th St. Coll said he used the rope to rappel down to the stranded men outside a 17th-floor window around 10:19 a.m..

When he reached the scaffold -- which had shifted to a 75-degree angle -- one frightened worker, 35, told him he was losing his grip.

"He said his hands were completely numb and it was difficult for him to hold on" to the scaffold, Coll said. "He thought he was going to fall," said Coll, who fastened the distraught worker's safety harness to his own.

As part of the two-pronged rescue, firefighters rushed to a 17th-floor apartment closest to the structure. No one was home, so they forced the door, knocked out windows in a bathroom and bedroom, and reached out to the scaffold, which fell when a motor failed.

Firefighters pulled Coll and one worker through the bathroom window. The two other workers were pulled in through the bedroom window, officials said.

Authorities received the first call about the accident at 10:16 a.m. and had rescued the three workers by 10:24 a.m.

"We train for this often," said Coll, a 14-year NYPD veteran. "I think the rescue went very well."

Two of the workers, ages 45 and 47, were evaluated by FDNY ambulance crews at the scene and refused further treatment, the fire department said. The third worker was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center and treated for minor injuries.

Authorities did not release the names of the men, who work for a Brooklyn-based maintenance company called AM&G. The three workers were all wearing safety harnesses, which were properly anchored, officials said.

A firefighter also was treated at the hospital for a minor hand injury he suffered during the rescue, an FDNY spokesman said.

Soler said he wasn't nervous during the high-rise ordeal.

"I wasn't worried. This is when the training kicks in," Soler said. "All we want to is help someone in need and just take the steps to save them."

Witness Jennifer Hardy, 37, of Queens, said she nearly fainted while watching the drama unfold.

"I was holding my breath watching these brave men literally go out on a limb for these poor guys," said Hardy, a secretary who was on a coffee run for her boss when the scaffold collapsed. "Everyone watching thought they were going to fall into the street. It was extremely scary."

The workers were inspecting facades at the luxury condominium when the collapse occurred, said Ryan FitzGibbon, spokeswoman for the city's Department of Buildings.

AM&G had installed the scaffold, FitzGibbon said.

Several calls to AM&G seeking comment were not returned.

The Department of Buildings issued a partial stop work order after the accident, barring AM&G from using scaffolding at the site.

"It could have been a disaster, but instead everyone gets to go home," Hardy said.

With Kevin Deutsch,

Anthony M. DeStefano

and William Murphy