Two arrested at Newton tower where worker fell to his death last fall

universal hub ^ | 6/11/12 | adamg

[raccoonradio]

Newton (MA) police and firefighters teamed up tonight to arrest two men who may have been trying to climb a 1,000-foot radio tower on Chestnut Street in Newton.

Ted Pendergast reports rescue crews arrived shortly before 9:30 p.m. Firefighters got the two men to the ground around 9:40 p.m.

Boston Radio Watch reports it's the same tower from which a worker fell some 1,000 feet last October. It houses the main transmitters for SportsHub 98.5 and Jamn 94.5, as well as backup transmitters for a number of other local stations.

[raccoonradio]

Am sure they were climbing it "because it was there". No word if they were occupiers or anything

main tower for 98.5--sports talk, CBS; 94.5--hits, R&B based, Clr Chnl; backup for 92.9--mod rock, GrMedia; 96.9--talk, GrMedia; 107.9--hits, Clr Chnl; 105.7--classic hits, GrMedia; 106.7--adult contemp, GrMedia

[raccoonradio]

Feel like climbing this?

https://twitter.com/firstduephotos/status/211993321969692674/photo/1

[driftdiver]

Climbing an active tower is a good way to get cooked.

[Clinging Bitterly]

Pikers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A_h2AjJaMw

[driftdiver]

Better them then me.

[2111USMC]

It gives me the willies just watching that.

No friggin way!

[raccoonradio]

seen before...wonder if these guys in Newton had the proper climbing equipment...was alcohol involved in this attempt last night? hold muh beer, let’s go climbing

[Clinging Bitterly]

Me too. No way!

[Clinging Bitterly]

Probably drunks I would guess. There are some ~1700’ towers in this area. Some of the guys who have been on them say even the elevators going partway up are creepy enough.

[Gay State Conservative]

I grew up right near those towers in Newton/Needham and pass by them often.As a kid I often fantasized about climbing one but never got around to it.I remember we used to ride our bikes to the Channel 7 tower (which was new at the time) and stand at the base and look up.Pretty cool!

[6SJ7]

Holy cow! The higher he climbs in the tower, the more precarious the available ladder! It’s nerve wracking just to watch the video.

[SamAdams76]

I have an office in Newton, practically in the shadow of those towers. For some reason, most people underestimate how tall these towers are. When I tell people that the tallest one of them is about twice as high as the John Hancock tower (in Boston), they find that hard to believe. Most people would guess that they are only about 500 feet off the ground when they are in fact closer to 2000 feet up.

I guess because they aren't solid buildings, they don't look as tall from a distance. But when you are standing right under them and look up, you then get a feeling for just how high they are. I can't do it without getting dizzy and losing my balance!

[Sirius Lee]

Wow, to climb a target for lightning like that and with storm clouds on the horizon.

[raccoonradio]

UPDATE Bos Globe
>>Two men wearing parachute backpacks and helmets were arrested after allegedly climbing up a communications tower near Saco Street in Newton, police said.

Tighe Crumb, 31, of Salem, N.H.; and Thomas Becker, 28, of Derry, N.H., were charged with trespassing, disturbing the peace, and wanton destruction of property.

At about 9:15 p.m. Sunday, police were called to the old WHDH-TV tower, where they found two men about half-way up the

roughly 1,200-foot tall tower, police said.

Police got the men’s attention and called them down from the tower. Safely on the ground, the men climbed over the
barbed-wire fence that surrounded the structure and were arrested.

One of the men’s
helmets

had a camera affixed to it.