Chicago FD Paramedic Injured By Falling Ice

[PFDRes47cue 653]

First off, my prayers for a speed recovery for the injured Paramedic.

Saw this article today and found it interesting. This is a problem that can happen in any downtown area where skyscrapers are. My question is this...Who is liable for injuries/damages caused from ice? I would assume that it would fall onto the owner of the skyscraper but that is just an assumption. I mean is it possible that the building owner is responsible for having the ice cleaned off the side of the buildings? How could this be done without the ice falling to the ground?

A spokesman for the Willis Tower said there was no direct evidence that the ice that struck the paramedic came from the Willis Tower.

"There is no definitive evidence of where the ice is coming from," Willis Tower spokesman Bill Utter said.

Leads me to believe he is worried about the buildings owner being held liable...

Edited March 3, 2011 by PFDRes47cue

[wcr20 17]

After living in Chicago for 8 years I can tell you that on 'melty' days it happens regularly - All the buildings put up signs on the sidewalks "Beware of Falling Ice", and at the company i used to work for, they actually reroute foot traffic off the sidewalk and into the portion of the walkway that is recessed under the 2nd floor of the building. THe stuff falls off the elevated tracks in the loop too - its hard to avoid getting hit by something.

[16fire5 693]

Not uncommon for Manhattan Truck companies to respond to these incidents. After the area is cordoned off the will knock off the remaining ice that prevents a falling hazard. Same think happens with broken windows in the high rises.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

I have had that happen on a smaller scale with some of the low and mid rises where I work. Took a icicle to the grape off a house this year...damned if it didn't make me see stars.

[Alpinerunner 61]

Some ice KO'd a woman in Stamford this winter. A truck company responded and took down what else they could.

[Task Force 7 65]

It's not something that were use to down here in Dallas Fort Worth. However the week leading up to the Super Bowl this year we had one of the worst winter storms in 20 years. Ice came crashing down off of Cowboys Stadium injuring about 6 NFL workers a few days before the Super Bowl. Arlington Fire Rescue had to spend a day trying to break the rest of the ice off the roof of the stadium so it would be safe came Super Bowl Sunday.

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/020411-Falling-Ice-at-Cowboys-Stadium

I hope the Chicago Medic makes a speedy recovery.

[x635 4,066]

The "Willis Tower" is actually best known as the Sears Tower, but Sears sold it a couple years back and the name changed.

[FFFORD 27]

my family used to have a house in Vermont which we would basically live at during the winter. One day in late winter, our neighbor was shoveling off his deck when an icicle came down. The icicle struck him in the head and went right through his body, killing him instantly. Ice is a very dangerous threat often overlooked.