Man pinned by falling tree
Rescue effort freed him
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea <br> Fort Dodge firefighters and paramedics work to free a man whose right arm and shoulder were pinned beneath a massive section of a fallen tree trunk Wednesday afternoon. He was part of a crew that was cutting down the tree when it fell at what police Lt. Matt Webb called “a weird angle” and came down on him.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea <br> A man who had been pinned beneath a fallen tree trunk is brought up a steep hill onto North Seventh Street in a special stretcher called a Stokes basket. He was quickly loaded into a nearby ambulance and taken to UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea <br> A pair of Fort Dodge firefighters pull on ropes stretched between two fire trucks Wednesday afternoon during the rescue of a man pinned beneath a huge section of a tree trunk. The rope and pulley system was used to hoist the man up a hill to North Seventh Street.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea <br> A man’s right arm and shoulder were pinned beneath this massive section of tree trunk when it came down Wednesday afternoon while a crew was cutting it down.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea <br> Fort Dodge firefighters and paramedics work to free a man whose right arm and shoulder were pinned beneath a massive section of a fallen tree trunk Wednesday afternoon. He was part of a crew that was cutting down the tree when it fell at what police Lt. Matt Webb called “a weird angle” and came down on him.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea <br> A man who had been pinned beneath a fallen tree trunk is brought up a steep hill onto North Seventh Street in a special stretcher called a Stokes basket. He was quickly loaded into a nearby ambulance and taken to UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea <br> A pair of Fort Dodge firefighters pull on ropes stretched between two fire trucks Wednesday afternoon during the rescue of a man pinned beneath a huge section of a tree trunk. The rope and pulley system was used to hoist the man up a hill to North Seventh Street.
-Messenger photo by Bill Shea <br> A man’s right arm and shoulder were pinned beneath this massive section of tree trunk when it came down Wednesday afternoon while a crew was cutting it down.
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A man was injured when a section of a massive tree trunk fell and pinned him to the ground on a steep hillside in Fort Dodge Wednesday afternoon.
He was freed during a complex rescue effort by firefighters and police officers and was transported by ambulance to UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center.
The incident happened on a steep wooded hillside between North Seventh Street and Exposition Drive.
It was reported at 2:41 p.m.
Police Lt. Matt Webb said some men were cutting the tree down.
"The tree fell at a weird angle and pinned him underneath," he said.
The man's right arm and shoulder were under the section of tree trunk.
The piece of tree trunk appeared to be roughly four-feet in diameter and likely weighed several hundred pounds.
Fire Department Lt. Eric Conell said hydraulic spreaders, usually utilized to pry open wrecked vehicles, were used to lift the huge log and roll it off the man.
Paramedics then treated and stabilized the man. He was placed in a special stretcher called a Stokes basket and was hoisted up the hill to North Seventh Street using what Conell called "low angle rescue techniques." A system of ropes and pulleys was put together on the scene to hoist the patient up the hillside.
Conell said the rescue took 13 minutes.
A LifeFlight helicopter was placed on standby during the rescue. On Wednesday evening it was unclear if the man had to be airlifted to another hospital.
A long section of North Seventh Street was closed while the rescue was underway.