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Collapsed window washing platform in Midtown now secured after 2 were rescued

Here's what we know.
(Photo: Atlanta Fire Rescue)

ATLANTA — Fire and rescue crews have now secured the scaffold that partially collapsed from the 38th floor of a Midtown Atlanta apartment unit, Friday evening.

Around 5:30 p.m., fire crews responded to 14th and West Peachtree Streets after getting reports of a possible electrical explosion.

PHOTOS | Window washing platform collapses in Midtown

According to Atlanta Fire Sgt. Cortez Stafford, when crews got on scene, they found a chaotic situation.

"The found a car on fire, they found smoke in the street, they found debris in the street," he described.

Stafford explained that somehow a part of the rigging for the scaffold failed, causing items to fall from the roof of the building.

Those items hit power lines on the way down, causing an electrical explosion. It also sent sparks which apparently caused a vehicle fire somewhere below.

Stafford said two window washers had to be rescued from about the 38th floor, however, they were strapped in. No one was hurt in the incident.

Dominique Ghassedi told 11Alive she was in front of the building when she heard a loud explosion followed by white and brown smoke billowing.

"I didn't know what to think at first. I was pretty scared," she said. "I didn't know what to think. 'Is this a terrorist bombing? Is this building about to collapse'," she remembered thinking.

Soon after, Ghassedi said she heard what sounded like a second explosion, then debris.

Video from the scene showed the platform dangling from the side of the building. Crews are now working to secure it and safely take it down.

After four hours, fire crews said they were able to secure the scaffolding and were beginning to slowly raise it back to the top of the building to remove it. Investigators are still trying to determine how the rigging failed.

Police still had lanes of West Peachtree Streets shut down.

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