Wis. Firefighter Recalls Blow to Head by Tree

March 29--Firefighter Kurt Jensen had one response when he heard a comment Wednesday that he was lucky not to have been more seriously injured when a tree fell on his head Tuesday evening.

"I would have been lucky if the thing would have missed me," he said from Hillcrest Kennels in Altoona. He and his wife, Kathy, also a member of the Fall Creek Area Fire Department, own the business.

"All I remember is a big bang on the top of my head," Jensen said. "I think I might have seen it coming and tried to take a step and start running, but I don't think I ever completed that first step."

Jensen was moving a hose, while others in the area of a fire along South Rodell Road west of Augusta were cutting trees. One, about 6 inches in diameter, landed on his head.

"There was a lot of smoke and ash. I don't think the guys doing the cutting knew I was there," he said.

Jensen, 62, a firefighter for the Fall Creek department for about 10 years, has a neck collar and will have more X-rays. He said the worst pain is in his left hip.

"I thought I broke it," Jensen said, thinking the hip flexed when the tree drove him to the ground. "The helmet kept my head from getting cut open."

Kathy, a surgical nurse at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, learned of her husband's injuries and stayed at the hospital.

"She had a few tears in her eyes when I got there," said Kurt, who left the hospital around midnight.

"He'll be around to aggravate us for a few more years," Kathy said with a laugh Wednesday.

"If he hadn't had that helmet on, his head injuries would have been a lot worse," she said. "It kind of jammed his neck down."

Fire Chief Bob Dewitz said the windy conditions caused smoldering tree stumps to start on fire and spread to a nearby woods. Jensen was injured when firefighters were cutting down trees on a hillside and didn't know he was in the area. More than 5 acres were burned.

"It was pretty thick out there, and there are a lot of sharp drop-offs," Dewitz said, adding that the Fall Creek and Augusta-Bridge Creek departments were at the scene for about four hours. "You'd think you had it out, and then it would start right up again, it was so windy.

"We're hoping Kurt will be much better soon."

Rupnow can be reached at 715-830-5831, 800-236-7077 or [email protected].

Fire Danger

Fire danger is high in all Wisconsin counties except four counties in the extreme northern part of the state, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

A DNR Web page lists current fire danger and burning restriction information for all counties in the state. You can access the page at LeaderTelegram.com/links.

Copyright 2012 - The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.