Firefighters from Clackamas County found themselves facing a unique and difficult high-angle rescue on the afternoon of April 27.
Clackamas Fire crews were initially called to reports of a man stuck in a tree. After receiving information from dispatch, additional crews were called to assist in the rescue.
The first-arriving engine company, Engine 8, found a 55-year-old male dangling upside down from a tree approximately 25 to 30 feet in the air. The victim was in the process of trimming a tree when he lost his footing and found himself hanging upside down and being held to the tree by his “choker rope.” The circulation in the victim’s legs was decreased and he was unable to assist in his own rescue.
Realizing the potential for a technical rescue, Engine 8’s officer quickly called for additional resources to assist. The crew was able to raise a 24-foot ladder to a point just below the injured man and support some of his weight to alleviate the building pressure in his legs. While the man was being supported by a firefighter on the ladder, a plan was being devised to secure the victim and safely lower him to the ground by the technical rescue team made up of Engine 8 and Truck 4.
A 35-foot ladder was raised on the opposite side of the tree at which point a second firefighter was able to secure the victim with a victim harness and a piece of tubular webbing. A lowering device and belay was set up on the ground and run through a change of direction located on the top rung of the 35-foot ladder. Once the lowering line was secured to the victim, he was lowered to the ground and transferred to a paramedic from American Medical Response-Clackamas County.
Captions:
#232 – Firefighters work off of 24-foot and 35-foot ladders while attempting to rescue the victim who was hanging from his ”Choker Rope” approximately 25 feet up the tree. Photos courtesy of the Clackamas Fire District
#229 – Rescuer uses section of webbing to assist victim to an upright position.
#228 – Initial rescuer to the victim attempts to support some of the victim’s weight as he works off of a 24-foot ladder.
#227 – A 35-foot ladder is being raised to assist in the rescue of a tree worker who was trapped 25 feet up a tree that he had been working on.
