This is the method that I have observed on the streets of St. Petersburg:
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In the photo above, there is one guy on the roof hacking at the icicles with an instrument. There are a few ladies on the street holding caution tape out (you can see one of them in the photo) to make a barrier so people won't walk too closely and get hit by the gigantic icicles. The ladies themselves are wearing no protective gear, unless you count the orange jackets.
It seemed kind of crazy to me at first, but on the other hand it could be quite convenient to just walk with the caution tape instead of having to tie it up and then take it down all the time.
It is funny, yet humbling at the same time. I imagine it's hard work, and probably doesn't pay very well.
Often it's not just icicles, but also chunks of ice from the roof itself. It's good they do this, so that ice doesn't fall on people. But, I had the windsheild of my car broken this way. A big chunk of ice fell on it from the building where I was parked, and the city crew doing the work dismissed me as being a bother; the city wouldn't pay to replace the windshield. I imagine that many windshields are broken this way each year.
ReplyDeleteAlso, city crews have poked holes in our roof doing this. Since we live on the top floor, we now have water damage to our ceiling. Ahh, life in St. Pete . . . .
I once went to visit Olga in a clinic when we expected Sasha. Walking into the building noticed a car park right by the main entry (inside the fanced area). I thought to myself that it was a parking place for some "big" doctor, no one parks in there, but him. On my way home when I left the building this car had a human body size piece of ice on its roof. More then that it smashed the vehicle to its floor, breaking even seats down to the floor. Looked like it was a "huge icicle carier with wheels". Doctor lost his car and had his life.
ReplyDeleteYikes! Right now from my window I can see several "human-sized" chunks that missed a car but made it onto the porch roof. I am going to be carefully not to walk too close to the buildings!
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who was killed when a chunk of ice fell from a tall building above Neiman Marcus on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Just shocking.
ReplyDeleteHow sad, Lindy! :(
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