NY Crews Use Crane to Rescue Man Trapped Under Tree

SCHENECTADY — A team of rescuers used a crane to lift a partly fallen tree off of the leg a man who was working on trees in a lot behind a home on Van Vranken Avenue when one of the trees fell, fire officials said.

Firefighters and medical workers comforted the man Friday while heavy equipment was brought in to lift the tree, Assistant Fire Chief Don Mareno.

The incident unfolded at about noon behind a home near the intersection of Seneca Street.

Mareno said a tree toppled but got hung up in nearby branches and did not fall all the way to the ground. Nonetheless, he said, the base of the tree trapped the man's leg, leaving him in need of rescue and medical care.

Two doctors from Albany Medical Center Hospital were called to the scene to help the man while firefighters searched for a way to get the tree off of him.

Mareno said a company from Altamont brought a crane to the yard. Once it was in place, straps were attached to the span so that it could be gently lifted off of the 45-year-old man's leg.

He remained conscious and alert throughout the ordeal and was eventually freed from the tree. He was taken to Albany Med to be treated for injuries that are not life-threatening.

In addition to firefighters, police, the doctors and the heavy equipment operators, a tree expert and paramedics from Mohawk Ambulance played a role in saving the man, Mareno said.

"This was a total team effort by a lot of people who do not work together," he said.

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