Today I put on the face of a hero by running into a residence hotel here in downtown San Francisco to report a man dangling from a third floor window ledge of a building. After my initial yells to the potential jumper to "just go back inside", I realized the man was beyond any reasoning as he was building up the courage to let go of the window frame he was holding onto with one hand.
It was like watching a person hesitating to jump into a cold pool. You could see that he really wanted to but an internal instinct kept just enough tension on his fingertips to prevent the mindless body from falling forward.
After looking around and seeing the half-dozen or so people looking up in tourist like fashion, as if the poor bastard was an entertainment snack, I dashed into the lobby and informed the deskclerk and others that a man was sitting on a window ledge of their building and about to jump. The desk clerk was stunned and appeared in shock as I yelled to him to call 911.
While he was on line with the 911 operator we heard a barrage of sirens indicating someone had probably already called, most likely one of the audience out front who were getting pics and video clips via cellphone to upload to a blog or youtube account no less. Oh well, who am I to judge. I've always liked watching fires for some odd unknown reason. Maybe watching someone jump from a building and splat on the asphalt gives the same sort of dramatic rush.
Police, firefighters, paramedics and just about any and everybody with responsibilities for SF City Health services and rescue were quickly on-site. For a minute I thought I saw the tiger-handler from the SF Zoo pacing nervously behind the area taped off by police. (I know, bad joke).
At one point a guy rides by on a bicycle, looks up, and yells don't do it such and such, just go back inside. It appeared he knew the would be jumper and knew of his unstable condition. But close friends they could not have been, for the bicycle rider said his piece without breaking a stroke in his peddling as he continued riding by the tense scene with nary a concern.
With the yellow tape cordoning off the asphalt below, probably making the area more appealing to the jumper than safer for pedestrians oblivious to the drama unfolding three stories above, a single police officer stepped into the area and began talking up to the guy. The first thing I heard him say was exactly the words I heard come out of my mouth when I first spotted the guy up there, "Just go back inside."
There are times when you stop looking at the main character in a drama and take in the supporting cast and their actions. I did this and found myself pitying the poor guy up on the ledge about to end it all. Again, the crowd, which had been hearded to the other side of the street by police for their own protection, were talking on cell phones, taking pictures/videos with cell phones or struggling to get their cell phones out of their pockets to do one of the aforementioned. The firefighters, with looks of disappointment because their were no hot flames licking at the poor guys ass in the window, had taken a back seat to the police. The police, except for the one negotiating and those who'd gone inside and up to the 3rd floor, were jockeying for positions outside the front of the building. They didn't appear to be getting ready for a rescue as much as not wanting to miss the inevitable human pumpkin smash. I myself was wondering why the fireman didn't pull out some kind of tarp to catch the guy in should he decide to jump or fall. Guess I've seen too much tv as a child.
Around the 20th minute or so of which this episode began, it ended with me not seeing whether he returned back into the room on his own accord or whether rescuers pulled him back in. All I saw was the disappointment in the faces of the crowd below as they quietly dispersed. You'd have thought someone was ready to throw dollar bills out the window and before they got the chance the police stopped them, ending hopes for a jubilant scuffle in the streets by all bystanders. In the eyes of the bystanders was a dull sadness as if they'd wasted their time waiting for nothing. In the time you could count to fifty was about the time it took for the block to return to normal, as if the incident hadn't occurred. Unlike fires where there's water, ash, burned furniture or something, here was nothing but minor gossip about what had happened and who the would be "Jumper" was. Nobody really seemed to know or care. He'd survived and all the pictures and videos taken were worthless.
It felt good to have the desk clerk and another staff member who was in the lobby initially when I ran in, come up to me and thank me for alerting them. I think we all, those who just weren't there to see a show, felt a huge sigh of relief when the police began removing the yellow tape and the firefighters began shuffling onto their trucks for departure.
Suicide attempts occur more than we care to think. Should you one day find yourself faced with a situation where a person is ready to attempt suicide, don't try to be a hero, just be human and offer or get help.
I'd like to commend all the city of San Francisco's Police, Firemen and Health Services persons who arrived in a timely manner and saved one human life today. Though I may have painted the scene as one full of uncaring service people just kind of doing their jobs, I acknowledge that they see these types of incidents and worse everyday and have to deal with the psychological aspects that surely stay with them once its over. I myself could barely watch the dangling legs of the guy much less look him in the eye without shuddering from the thought of falling.
Unfortunately, just another day in a city full of stories.
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