The ladder was a fiberglass ladder... keep in mind that the victim was also in contact with numerous pipes and ducting.
Grabbing the victim probably wasn't the wisest thing to do- but hindsight is always 20-20, and all was well in the end!
A fancy name for "safety' is "risk management." There simply are no perfect answers that fit all situations. Rather, we must weigh the risks, and take our chances.
And- lest we forget- in a case of complete cardiac / respiratory shut down, time is of the essence, and even the seconds required to raise the alarm might make a difference.
