My life flashed before my eyes repairing a leak in a stairwell. I had a 3 foot sawhorse ladder setup straddling the top 3 steps of the stairwell at a 45 degree angle. My apprentice was spotting me, holding a bucket to catch water and passing me tools. Throughout the 20 minute repair the ladder seemed solid so I asked my apprentice to start packing up the tools. With only one more pipe to flux off I stretched and that was when time stood still. The fall probably only took 1 second but it seemed like an eternity. The ladder rolled and I came down ass first onto the side of it, facing the 8 foot plummet and jagged stairs. I flailed my arms trying to grab a pipe…nothing…a railing…it was an old house so no railings…I looked for my apprentice to break the fall – it’s so hard to find a good apprentice these days?…there was nothing soft to help at the bottom of the stairs! I thought I was finished. The ladder tumbled underneath me and I turned and was facing the ceiling, gaining speed. The ladder landed with its 4 metal legs sticking up waiting to either catch or stake me. As for tools my pockets were filled – screw drivers, pipe cutters, drywall saw, exacto knife-was the blade retracted or had I given it to the apprentice? The end of the fall went quickly….I was sitting on the ground beside my neatly folded ladder looking at the stairs & my apprentices’ horrified face…I expected it to be bad and tried to move & was miraculously unscathed.

Up-To-Code would be happy to come work for you and promise we won’t fall down your stairs!

Story by Mike Paul