Two window washers were rescued from a high-rise building in Tysons, Virginia on December 4, 2025 after their scaffolding malfunctioned, leaving them stranded approximately 15 stories above the ground.

The Incident

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FCFRD) responded to a high-angle emergency at the 7900 block of Tysons One Place around 9:17 a.m. on Thursday morning. Two workers were trapped on a window-washing basket when one side of the equipment gave out, according to the fire department.

The workers were cleaning windows on Tysons Tower, a 22-story building that houses financial, consulting, and technology firms.

The Rescue

Technical rescue units met with building management, who explained that the scaffold suffered a mechanical failure. Firefighters quickly moved to the roof to assess the situation, evaluating anchor options for rope systems, surveying potential edge hazards, assessing wind conditions, and determining the stability of the compromised scaffold.

Rescue crews constructed twin-tension rope-lowering systems that were anchored to the building’s steel beams. A rescuer performed a controlled descent over the edge to reach the first worker, assessed the safety of their harness, then secured them into the rope system. Both the rescuer and worker were lowered simultaneously into a tower ladder bucket positioned below.

The first rescue was completed at approximately 10:07 a.m., with the second worker rescued by 10:24 a.m. The washers were lowered onto a tower ladder bucket on a fire truck around 10:30 a.m., FCFRD officials said.

No Injuries Reported

There were no injuries, firefighters confirmed. After the workers were rescued, crews recovered all equipment, dismantled the anchors, and performed a final safety check.

“We are extremely proud of our technical rescue members,” the FCFRD said in a statement. “Thanks to their expertise there were no injuries and everyone went home safe.”