By Jasmyn Belcher
Oswego, NY – Those who work on cellular towers, broadcast towers and do similar jobs are being asked to voice their opinions on the tower climbing industry.
The very first tower Climbers Perspectives on Tower Safety Conference is being held in Syracuse Saturday, March 24. The goal of this event is to gather opinions on how to reduce the risk of tower climbing injuries and fatalities.
Wally Reardon is a former climber and coordinator of the Tower Climber Protection Project. Reardon said there are safety regulations in place, but some climbers don't follow safety laws because they have too much work to do and can't be slowed down. Reardon states the job is far too dangerous for that.
"How dangerous is this job compared to a barber? A barber has to have a license to work in New York State. A tower climber has the lives of other climbers in his own hands when he is working on a tower. You can make a mistake that can bring down a tower that can kill everybody on the job, but there is no license requirement for a tower climber in New York State," said Reardon.
According to Reardon, there needs to be more transparency when it comes to tower climbing fatalities because many are attributed to construction accidents.
Throughout the country there were 18 tower climbing deaths in 2006. Five workers died in 2009.