The Brief
- A tree trimmer suffered a medical emergency while suspended 75 feet in the air and was rescued by helicopter.
- Cal Fire used an aerial hoist to safely lower the worker and rescuer to the ground.
- The man survived and was taken to a hospital; a Cal/OSHA investigation is likely.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – A tree trimmer was rescued Friday morning in San Jose after suffering a medical emergency while suspended 75 feet in the air.
High-altitude emergency
What we know:
The worker was pruning a palm tree around 10:10 a.m. in the 2900 block of Sunburst Drive when he experienced an unspecified medical emergency. Because of the complexity of the situation, standard ground-based rescue efforts were bypassed in favor of an aerial approach.
Helicopter extrication
Dig deeper:
A Cal Fire helicopter arrived at the scene and lowered a rescuer to the man, secured him and then safely lowered both the rescuer and the victim to the ground while tethered to the aircraft.…