Firefighters go off-road to rescue man hit by falling tree in W. Finley
A man was flown by helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital after he was struck by a tree he’d been cutting in the woods of West Finley Township.
Township volunteer fire Chief Steve Emery said members of the department were dispatched to Slemmons Road at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Emery said the man was 1,000 feet back in the woods when firefighters got there. They took the department’s medical vehicle as far up an access road as they could, then used a side-by-side to bring two EMTs the rest of the way.
Emery stressed that he wasn’t able to answer the call himself but said his son Steve, who is assistant chief, and his wife, Cathy, an EMT with the department, were among those who did.
“What happened was a tree came down while he was cutting it and hit him in the head,” Emery said.
Emery said the man is in his mid-30s. He was conscious but complained about neck and back pain. EMTs put him on a backboard and then used the side-by-side to take him to a landing zone near the end of Slemmons where it meets Burnsville Ridge Road.
He said the helicopter brought the patient to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh.
“As far out as we are, they can get him in Pittsburgh in probably 10 minutes,” Emery said.
Firefighters from Claysville’s department set up the landing zone. Emery said Washington County Ambulance and Chair also assisted at the landing zone.