Photo: Fire Department rescues two from 60-foot-high Waffle House sign

Captain Jim Henegar of the Chattanooga Fire Department uses a ladder truck to rescue Chris Statom, left, and Brandon Nihiser, employees of River City Sign and Neon, after a breakdown on the bucket truck they were using Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. They were attempting to change lights on the 23rd Street Waffle House sign when a mechanical failure stranded them approximately 60 feet in the air, but they were rescued without injury.
Captain Jim Henegar of the Chattanooga Fire Department uses a ladder truck to rescue Chris Statom, left, and Brandon Nihiser, employees of River City Sign and Neon, after a breakdown on the bucket truck they were using Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. They were attempting to change lights on the 23rd Street Waffle House sign when a mechanical failure stranded them approximately 60 feet in the air, but they were rescued without injury.

Chris Statom and Brandon Nihiser pulled the lever to raise their bucket truck 60 feet in the air above Chattanooga's 23rd Street Waffle House, slowly ascending upward toward the giant yellow sign.

Statom and Nihiser, employees of River City Sign and Neon, were there to change out the lights on the iconic Waffle House sign that draws diners from around the neighborhood, 24 hours per day. As sign repairmen, there's nothing unusual about working a couple stories aboveground.

The trouble started when the bucket truck that held them aloft broke down before they had a chance to descend. Stuck next to each other in the bucket truck's small metal basket, they were stranded above 23rd Street with no power, no way to get down and no waffles.

A photographer captured the moment when Captain Jim Henegar of the Chattanooga Fire Department arrived to rescue Statom and Hihiser using a ladder truck.

Statom and Nihiser successfully transferred to the fire department's ladder truck and were rescued without injury.

photo Captain Jim Henegar of the Chattanooga Fire Department uses a ladder truck to rescue Chris Statom, left, and Brandon Nihiser, right, employees of River City Sign and Neon, after a breakdown on the bucket truck they were using Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. They were attempting to change lights on the 23rd Street Waffle House sign when a mechanical failure stranded them approximately 60 feet in the air, but they were rescued without injury.

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