Putnam Man Airlifted Following Tree-Cutting Accident

Putnam, Conn, – A Putnam man was transported to UMass, Worcester, with serious injuries after a felled tree rolled and pinned him on Saturday afternoon.

At 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 16th, 2023 the East Putnam Fire Department, along with Putnam EMS and a QV Medic, were dispatched to the hayfields in the area of Killingly Ave and John Bennett Rd for reports of a person pinned by a tree

.

At the time of the call, the ambulance was returning from another call and still had the QV Medic onboard. This paramedic unit operates a fly-car model, responding from their Killingly garage or their roaming/staging location. With the paramedic already being onboard, the Basic Life Support (BLS) crew and paramedic were able to discuss the call before arriving on the scene. It was quickly determined that a helicopter would likely be necessary, using the “I’d rather have them coming and turn them away if we don’t need them” mentality, a helicopter was requested from LIFE STAR before any units arrived on the scene. This decision led to a seamless transition of patient care later in the incident.

When responders reached the original dispatch location and began searching multiple fields, it became apparent that searching each field would take far too long. The Quinebaug Valley Emergency Dispatch Center (QVEC) was able to ping the caller’s cell phone through the active 911 call and determine a more precise location leading responders to the correct property. Crews arrived to find the victim well out of sight of the roadway.

According to Chief Abe Walker, East Putnam Fire Department, crews arrived on the scene to find a man pinned between two 20-inch limbs of a previously felled ash tree.

The man was likely attempting to limb/buck personal use firewood when one of the limbs shifted pinning him in the air between the two limbs.

East Putnam’s Engine 4, which is equipped with numerous specialized technical rescue tools, was the truck on the scene. Due to the patient being located several hundred feet off of the paved driveway, crews had to utilize a fire department member’s four-wheel-drive pickup truck to shuttle equipment through soft grass to the victim. Knowing that it would be a complex technical rescue, crews loaded the truck with anything that may be needed; this included pneumatic airbags (powered off of SCOTT air pack bottles typically used to breathe in fires), chainsaws, stabilizing struts, wooden cribbing, jaws of life (spreaders), and multiple other pieces of equipment.

In the minutes it took firefighters to get the gear to the patient, East Putnam’s Engine Tanker 1 arrived on the scene and rapidly secured a landing zone for the incoming helicopter which was now deemed essential to the patient’s outcome.

Back with the patient, crews rapidly began stabilizing the tree which had apparently split at the base causing the limb to be forced together actively pinning the victim. With the tree being Ash, crews knew they faced a major risk of the bark sheering off under any exterior force. This made any direct lifting using the jaws of life an extremely risky option. Instead, crews opted to secure the two limba at the base with ratchet straps to prevent them from kicking or rolling as they worked. Stabilization struts were then placed to help ensure that the limb would not roll further toward the patient if the straps failed. From there, a pneumatic airbag was placed between the two pieces of wood, alleviating pressure from the patient and creating a pivot point approximately 2 ft from the patient. With these measures in place, crews were able to utilize a chainsaw to cut the limb while it was being lifted against the pivot point by firefighters ultimately freeing the man.

During the extrication process, EMTs from both the ambulance and the fire department worked hand in hand with the paramedic providing vital patient care.

17 minutes after the arrival of Engine 4 the patient was extricated and rapidly moved to the ambulance which was waiting next to the now-established landing zone along the driveway. Just as crews reached the ambulance the distinct sound of the rotor blades came over the treetops. To protect the patient from any debris or wind caused by the rotor wash of the incoming helicopter, crews quickly transferred the patient from a scoop stretcher to an ambulance stretcher and loaded him into the ambulance away from the elements.

The man was ultimately transported via LIFE STAR to UMass, Worcester, with serious injuries.

Agencies that responded included; the East Putnam Fire Department, Putnam EMS, KB Ambulance QV Medic, and Hartford Healthcare LIFE STAR.

In accordance with Quiet Corner Alerts policy, the name of the victim has been withheld.

Prints are available here.