Europe; Sweden
As heavy snowfall continues to fall in Sweden, an army of so-called “sweepers” is losing dizzying heights in Stockholm to clear the city’s roof of snow – all in the public safety.
Spinning along the black tin roofs in Stockholm’s historic old town – up to 10 meters above the ground – Andrei Plian and Alex Lupu move thick white blankets of snow from the city’s canopy down to street level.
For some, this dizzying work would be too much, but for roofers Plian and Lupu, they perform a public service by maintaining “the safety of the people” – and they say the stunning views are one of the benefits of the job.
READ MORE
Welcome to Taurus’ year
Listen to an 18,000 year old instrument
Looking for life on Mars
“Being here on the roof and looking up at the sky, you feel that freedom,” says Plian.
He adds that when he first started the job, “Working on the roof was scary. But after a while you get used to it – it’s like normal work, you don’t think about it that much.”
After 10 years of roofing, he is still aware of the dangers of working so high up, especially in snowy conditions: “Every time you have to think about safety – that’s the main rule.”
Earlier in February, another snowman was seriously injured in the northern Swedish city of Umeå when roofs were cleared. The first findings showed that he was not wearing his seat belt.
Plian always takes care to attach to the buildings with rope and carabiner.
“You have no room for mistakes here,” he says. “If you make a mistake, it could be your last.”
Their employees below also take the job seriously. Fredrik Ericsson is accused of making sure that pedestrians are not hit by any of the ice and snow that his colleagues have detached from the roof.
Using a high whistle to signal when people pass, he blows once to stop the work above and twice to signal clearly.
Ericsson says it can be a tricky task because people are often unaware, sometimes unaware of the work in progress.
“They do not show much respect, they just walk by, so I have to stop and shout at them,” he says. “They do not see the danger.”
In 2002, a 14-year-old died after being hit by a large block of ice that broke off a building on Stockholm’s largest shopping street. But accidents are rare in Sweden, according to Staffan Moberg, a spokesman for the insurance industry group Svensk Forsakring.
“As far as I can remember, there have only been two deaths in the last 20-30 years,” he says.
Moberg adds that they do not store data on incidents, and while accidents do occur from time to time, “the consequences are usually not fatal and very rarely even serious.”
Nevertheless, many Stockholmers will make sure that the sweepers on the roof, high above the snow-covered capital, continue to keep them safe and act as Stockholm’s silent guardian, the city’s vigilant protector.
Video editing: Riaz Jugon
Source: sn.dk