Firefighters 'swinging in the wind' as they secured sign on 45th floor
Firefighters abseiled down a building in Melbourne's CBD on Monday as they removed a Telstra sign which had been damaged by wind on the 45th floor.
The footpaths underneath the building on the corner of Exhibition and Lonsdale streets were cleared by police as the firefighters worked above.
The MFB's high-angle rescue crew managed to remove the dislodged Telstra sign, which was about 6 metres by 4 metres and made of canvas.
Strong winds are believed to have ripped the sign apart.
The MFB said it was a complex operation due to the high winds, releasing photos showing members of the rescue team scaling the building.
Police also blocked off the area on the ground, and stopped traffic for a short amount of time.
Earlier, incident controller Barry McVrearty told radio station 3AW's Neil Mitchell the wind was hampering the removal effort.
“[The firefighters are] not too straight, they are swinging in this wind,” he said.
“There’s still about 6 metres by 6 metres that’s still on the building that has to be cut down.”