By Tom Vines
Published Thursday, January 26, 2012
On Nov. 23, 2011, Santa Barbara City, Calif., firefighters found themselves facing a unique technical rescue and EMS challenge—but they were able to handle it with ease.
The initial 9-1-1 call to the Santa Barbara Combined Communications Dispatcher (CCD) reported a man suffering from electrical burns on East Valerio Street in Santa Barbara. At 1323 HRS, the Santa Barbara City Fire Department responded with Engine 3 (with a captain, engineer and firefighter) and Rescue 1 (with two firefighters). An AMR ALS unit also responded.
While en route, the CCD updated responding units that the patient was located in a tree. The captain from Engine 3 requested additional resources. The response was then upgraded by the on-duty battalion chief to include Engine 1 and Battalion Chief 714.
Engine 3 and Rescue 1 arrived on scene at 1327 HRS. They found a man in a large oak tree hanging upside-down by a rope approximately 30 feet off the ground. He was secured by a waist harness attached to the rope, but he had slipped down into an inverted position so that his boots were the only thing preventing him from falling out of the harness completely. He initially appeared unconscious.
The patient, who was in his 20s, worked for a local tree-trimming company. He had been maneuvering around the tree with his waist harness attached to a rope-belay system. He threw the 10-foot-long rope farther up in the tree to get a higher working point, but the rope made contact with a high-voltage line above the tree. The rope resembled a typical kernmantle line but had a metal cable core. When the metal core contacted the power line, an electrical shock travelled down the line to the victim’s pelvic area, knocking him over and rendering him unconscious.
Soon after rescuers arrived, the man’s level of consciousness began to improve, but he was apparently disoriented and not fully aware of his situation. He was trying to right himself by turning and twisting, creating a risk of slipping out of his harness. Another tree-trimmer who was working in the same tree attempted to prevent the patient from falling.
Rescuers immediately formulated a plan: Considering the patient’s unstable situation and potential life-threatening injuries, they needed to lower the man to the ground as safely and expeditiously as possible. The oak tree was sturdy and well established so rescuers knew that it would support them and a ladder.
Firefighters positioned a 35' extension ladder so someone could get close enough to secure the patient. While the ladder was being thrown, a firefighter from Rescue 1 donned a full-body harness. He then ascended the ladder with a drop bag containing small-diameter line and a rescue harness for securing the patient. At the same time, engineers from Truck 1 and Engine 3 secured an anchor point for a simple lowering system using a brake-bar rack. There were no other possible anchors, so firefighters attached a brake-bar rack to a substantial porch column.
A third tree-trimmer on the ground was initially cooperative and helpful; however, because he didn’t agree with firefighters’ rescue strategy, he soon began to impede rescuers in their operation. He was the patient’s father, and at one point, became quite agitated. But once he saw that the rescuers were putting their plans into action, he began to calm down.
Once harnessed, the firefighter from Rescue 1 ascended the ladder to a position above the patient, placed the rescue harness on him and temporarily secured him to the other tree-trimmer’s safety line. The firefighter deployed the drop bag line to the ground where rescuers attached it to the haul line controlled by the brake-bar rack. The firefighter in the tree pulled the haul line over an upper branch about 75 feet up and attached the rope end to the patient. Once secured to the fire department lowering line, the patient was released from the other tree-trimmer’s safety belay line. The patient was still secured to his own safety belay line, so the firefighter cut him free from it.
The rescuers on the ground used the brake-bar rack to lower the patient along the ladder. One rescuer assisted from below while the firefighter at the top assisted from above.
Once on the ground, the paramedics found that the force of the electrical jolt had blown off the back of the man’s pants. He had a significant entry wound on his hip area, a significant exit wound on the inside of his thigh, and his finger tips were singed. The man was in extreme pain. The AMR paramedics placed the patient on a backboard and provided full C-spine precautions.
The ambulance transported the patient to the trauma center at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital at 1350 HRS. After stabilization, he was transported to the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks. Command was dissolved and all units had cleared the scene at approximately 1412 HRS.
Sources: Santa Barbara City Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Mercado provided information for this report. Some additional details were taken from an account of the incident on Noozhawk.com.
LESSONS LEARNED/LESSONS REINFORCED:
Battalion Chief Robert Mercado makes the following observations:
- “Be flexible when formulating the rescue plan. When we train with rescue systems, we have all safety components in place. But in this case, rescuers were presented with a special situation requiring a scratch-type rescue system. A haul line and belay were not feasible due to the victim’s position and the need to get the badly injured patient down quickly.
- Control the scene early in the incident. During the rescue, the victim’s working partner was at times helpful but also became a hindrance and impeded the rescue process. The worker could not be removed from the area while firefighters were rescuing the patient.
- Request utility company response as soon as possible. Southern California Edison was requested to expedite while fire units were en route. Edison did arrive while the victim and rescuers were in the tree. They shut off power to the surrounding area to create a safe work zone.”
Comment Now: Post Your Thoughts & Comments on This Story
Tom Vines
Rescue Editor Tom Vines is the co-author of "High Angle Rescue Techniques" and "Confined Space and Structural Rope Rescue." He operates a rope-rescue consulting group in Red Lodge, Mont. Read Full Bio
Firefighters found a man in a large oak tree hanging upside-down by a rope approximately 30 feet off the ground. He was secured by a waist harness attached to the rope, but he had slipped down into an inverted position so that his boots were the only thing preventing him from falling out of the harness completely.
Firefighters positioned a 35' extension ladder so someone could get close enough to secure the patient. While the ladder was being thrown, a firefighter from Rescue 1 donned a full-body harness. 
A firefighter ascended the ladder with a drop bag containing small-diameter line and a rescue harness for securing the patient. At the same time, engineers from Truck 1 and Engine 3 secured an anchor point for a simple lowering system using a brake-bar rack. There were no other possible anchors, so firefighters attached a brake-bar rack to a substantial porch column. 
Once harnessed, the firefighter from Rescue 1 ascended the ladder to a position above the patient, placed the rescue harness on him and temporarily secured him to the other tree-trimmer’s safety line. The firefighter deployed the drop bag line to the ground where rescuers attached it to the haul line controlled by the brake-bar rack. The firefighter in the tree pulled the haul line over an upper branch about 75 feet up and attached the rope end to the patient. 
Once secured to the fire department lowering line, the patient was released from the other tree-trimmer’s safety belay line. The patient was still secured to his own safety belay line, so the firefighter cut him free from it. The rescuers on the ground used the brake-bar rack to lower the patient along the ladder. One rescuer assisted from below while the firefighter at the top assisted from above.
