Aug 7, 2008 10:00 pm US/Eastern
Philly Medics Discuss Amazing Tree Rescue
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
It is much worse than being stuck between a rock and a hard place; stuck between the trunk of a tree and the recently cut limbs.
That is what happened to a man, identified by friends as Paul, who was cutting down a tree for neighbor Merle Williams in Germantown Wednesday evening.
"I was really scared. I called 911 and they were here within minutes," Williams said.
When medic Rashawn Reed arrived, he found the 48-year-old victim, suspended some 30 feet off the ground and the sawed-off top of the tree weighing about 500 pounds, on top of him.
While Rashawn held the ladder, his partner Tonya Brockenborough tried to keep the terrified man alert and conscious by talking to him.
"Try to relax, take deep breaths, try not to panic," said Reed. "It was really emotional at times and he was just worried about his family."
Rashwan says there was a lot of screaming in between the words, but Paul never passed out or went into shock.
In the meantime, firefighters from Engine 9 and personnel from Rescue Squad 72 stepped in, using ladders to get close enough to Paul, then ropes and brute strength to gingerly lift the branches just enough to get out.
Rashawn says he never lost faith. "I never thought are we going to get him out of there, it was more, how, without doing any further damage."
Paul was rushed to Albert Einstein Medical Center after taking a little over an hour to get him down.
"They are really wonderful and brave men and women and they did an excellent, fabulous job saving this man's life," said Merele.
Despite being pinned to the tree, Reed says Paul did not suffer any life threatening injuries and was actually in stable condition when he was taken to the hospital.
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