Window Washer Survives 7-Floor Fall From Rittenhouse Building

Police said the man was awake and talking as paramedics loaded him into an ambulance

A window washer has survived a seven-floor fall from a Rittenhouse Square high-rise.

One day after the fall, he's recovering at Hahnemann University Hospital in stable condition.

Witnesses tell NBC10 three men were washing windows at the Rittenhouse Claridge apartment building at 201 S. 18th Street when one fell from the face of the building around 2 p.m. Thursday.

Philadelphia Police at the scene said the man was hanging from a suspension cable when he fell from outside the building's eighth floor.

"I looked up and saw something coming down and I thought it was a big bag of trash or something and it hit the thing, hit the bottom," said Tracey Downey, witness. "I ran over there and the guy said call 911, it was a human."

The window washer landed on a second floor roof, which is over the apartment building's lobby.

Firefighters could be seen putting the man onto a stretcher as they took him into the building through a window.

Police said the man was awake and talking as paramedics loaded him into an ambulance.

Philadelphia Fire Department officials said the city's Department of Licenses & Inspections were dispatched to inspect the window washing equipment.

The Rittenhouse Claridge is across the street from Philadelphia's swanky Rittenhouse Square. The building stands 26 stories tall and has a TD Bank branch and the popular restaurant Rouge taking up residence on street level.

Contact Us