There have 13 fatalities this year among tower climbers, and the sister of John Dailey who fell 200 feet from a tower in North Carolina on August 12, 2013 spoke to Georgia’s Fox 31 News about the dangers these workers face every day. Tabetha DuPriest said, “We got a call that I think changed our lives forever. Most importantly it brought more awareness to our family of what all he did and the dangers of the job.” It’s becoming more apparent to members of the tower industry that taking safety precautions is of the utmost important, but DuPriest believes there’s a driving cause behind the majority of these fatalities. “You can see the spike in the deaths and what we’re finding out is it’s due to the cellular carriers putting these rigorous deadlines on the climbers wanting to get the job done faster.” Every time there is an equipment upgrade or a network enhancement, these tower climbers are pressured to complete their jobs as quickly as possible. Bridgette Hester, Huddle Foundation Founder, said, “We just want the carriers to be more aware that safety doesn’t stop once they subcontract that work out and their accountability shouldn’t stop.”
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