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Mass. firefighters rescue injured tree worker trapped 100 feet up

Southborough firefighters used technical rescue skills to free the injured man from a tree before he was airlifted to a hospital

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By Susannah Sudborough
masslive.com

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. — A tree worker was airlifted to a hospital Wednesday morning after becoming seriously injured and trapped in a tree in Southborough, according to the town’s fire department.

Around 10:20 a.m. , a 911 caller reported that a worker doing tree work on Pinecone Lane was trapped in a tree, the Southborough Fire Department wrote in a press release. First responders found the injured worker approximately 100 feet up in the tree.

| MORE: Patient management in the technical rescue environment

Crews determined that this was a complex rescue operation and requested additional technical rescue teams and equipment, the fire department said. But before the additional crews arrived, a technical rescue firefighter at the scene assessed the situation and, with help from the tree crew and their equipment, successfully freed the worker.

Within 20 minutes of the initial 911 call, the worker was carried down from the tree and taken to an awaiting ambulance, the fire department said. The worker was then flown by medical helicopter to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with serious injuries.

“I would like to recognize the quick thinking of the on-duty crew in requesting additional resources early in the incident, as well as their professionalism, technical skill, and teamwork in executing a complex rescue and providing exceptional patient care,” Southborough Fire Chief Andrew Putini said in the release. “Their actions contributed directly to a successful extrication and rapid transport of the injured worker.”

The fire department did not share details regarding how the worker became trapped in the tree or what the worker’s condition is as of Wednesday afternoon. No further information has been released.

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