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Tree trimmer dies from fall
Jeff Humphrey
Jeff Humphrey / KXLY4 Reporter
Last updated: Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 10:56:40 PM
Tree trimmer dies in fall
KXLY4 Staff
A professional tree trimmer who was cutting this Ponderosa Pine fell more than 60 feet to his death.
SPOKANE -- A professional tree trimmer fell out of an 69-foot tree to his death Wednesday afternoon in the Nine Mile area.
Firefighters were dispatched to the Nine Mile Area about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday on what dispatchers call a long fall. A homeowner on Granger Road had hired a professional tree surgeon to take down a couple of Ponderosa Pines.
It was a father and son team and the older of the two men was in the process of topping out a Pine and asked his son for a larger saw and had hauled the equipment up to his position about 60 feet off the ground.
The son turned and walked away from the base of the tree and then heard his father shout out and fall.
Sheriff's deputies say it appears the man may have unbuckled his safety harness.
"Apparently they use the safety harness when they climb the tree as they trim their way up, but it's not unusual for tree trimmers to disconnect that for the descent and the safety harness is unbuckled on the deceased," Spokane County Sheriff?s Office spokesman Sergeant Dave Reagan said.
An autopsy will now help investigators determine if the man fell because of a medical problem or simply lost his grip in what can be a very dangerous job.
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What's this BS about disconnecting for the descent? If you disconnect you fall, and so much for 2 attachment points!
Sad, cost the guys life.