CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Workers Rescued After Scaffolding Breaks at Avocado Medical Building

Two men were left dangling by harnesses from the side of a medical building on Avocado Avenue when their scaffolding’s motor malfunctioned just after 10:30 a.m. today. The men were quickly rescued.

“I was grateful the harness was doing its job,” said Mark Dunn, 44, of Irvine. “We were very, very lucky.”

The other worker, Wes Malone, 27, of Huntington Beach, said they were in their second week of work on the building at 1401 Avocado Avenue, repairing leaks from January storms that flooded the building’s stairwells.

“It was just run of the mill, getting ready for the day’s work,” he said.

Dunn said they set up the scaffolding, then went to between the eighth and ninth floors. “We work our way down from the top,” he said.

But when he pressed the button to stop the motor, Malone’s side stopped. “My side continued to go,” he said.

He used the emergency switch, stopping them, then they called for help. They then tried to power it back up, the motor didn’t respond. Finally, Malone said he released the emergency switch to try to lower the scaffold to the ground — but only one side moved.

“The left went down, the safety harnesses caught us, and we were hanging by a rope,” he said.

Minutes later, firefighters and maintenance workers were on the roof, hoisting the men, one-by-one, to safety. The firefighters were in the building on an unrelated call, said Jennifer Schulz, a Newport Beach Fire Department spokeswoman, and the men were dangling for only a few minutes.

Fire department crews checked them out, the men said, and they were fine and considering going back to work. Fire crews were waiting to see if they needed to assist taking down the scaffolding, which was hanging from the building on the Avocado side of the street for more than an hour.

Avocado Avenue was closed between San Miguel and San Nicolas drives during the event as a safety precaution.

Workers from the medical offices stopped to talk to the men, who were in the parking lot taking phone calls from friends and family members.

“It was pretty up there,” Dunn said.

Mark Dunn, left, and Wes Malone, were rescued Monday morning from the side of a medical building.