KYW Transmission Tower Gets A Paint Job, 500 Feet In The Air
WHITEMARSH TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) - Imagine driving to the office, then climbing a few hundred feet to your workplace.
For some, it happens every day.
Brian Betts paints and repairs towers for a living, now including the 500-foot twin radio towers in Whitemarsh Township (Montgomery County) that keep KYW Newsradio on the air.
The hardest part, he says, starts with the first step.
"The climbing -- getting up there," he says.
Is there any special technique?
"Just climb it like a ladder, and be as safe as we can."
Still, that involves a lot of equipment.
"We have harnesses and safety rigging that secures us to the tower," Betts says.
Add the paint cans and stuff needed for the job, and that's a haul. Still, coworker Steven Callahan (in photo below) says there are perks:
"Being away from people -- not having to deal with people. I just put my headphones on and do my job."
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But it's a job where wind, ice, rain, even lightning can turn a day at the office into a scramble for your life.
Reported by Lynne Adkins, KYW Newsradio 1060
