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Arborist Accident - friction hitches

That's horrible. I'm very sorry for your loss, and for his family.

Maybe somebody reading this will put a tourniquet someplace accessible - to either hand - and thereby save their own family a loss.
 
Such a sad sorry…sorry for his family.
My two brothers and I do arborist work, when climbing I do 95% of the work if we are not using the bucket truck, but my younger brother climbs as well, we both have Akimbo devices and foot ascenders, so in the case of an emergency a ground guy can climb the same rope I’m tied into also to and help me.

I was telling my brother this story today and I’m so thankful for the safety God has given us while working, things can happen so quickly and it can change your life forever.
Fo you guys that ONE stick climb look over your gear and try to get a rescue plan in the event something could go wrong…
This is the second story about someone that died while in a similar situation, so try to be careful and maybe make some changes necessary.
I don’t ONE stick climb, and I personally will not use aider because I’m worried about slipping on a wet day or snowy day and hanging upside down with my foot stuck in a aider.
Thoughts and prayers for the family.
 
Hey man I want to start by saying I am very sorry for the loss of your friend.

I don’t think anyone can tell you what would or wouldn’t have saved his life without details. Was he climbing Ddrt or was he SRT climbing with a rope wrench? Which hitch was he using? Was there a groundsman that could have helped?
Most mechanical devices require two handed operation to rappel as well. If you simply pull the lever with one hand you could easily end up crashing to the ground which could cause more injuries than tying a tourniquet and waiting for help.
I’m sure people are thinking an autoblock on lineman’s and hand on the release lever, but even then you’d be stopping every 8” and having to adjust the autoblock. With adrenaline and blood loss, how long could you repeat that step before passing out? In many instances, arborist are taught to false crotch with their lanyard, feed the ends of the climbing line and then rappel on the line while doubled. If for no other reason arborist should learn to tie and use a Blake’s for self rescue. A two tether (2TC but down instead of up) system of standing the foot loop, dropping your top tether height sitting and repeat is also an option albeit also a very energy and time consuming one if you were injured and bleeding out. This situation is very sad to hear about and unfortunately is also common in arbor culture. It’s one of the top 5 most dangerous jobs in the world.
 
raisins said:
What was the cause of death? Bleeding or something related to suspension trauma or something else?
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Massive exsanguination. Aka bleeding out from an extremity. Under two minutes to react and fix it if it’s from a major artery. Low on a forearm or bicep area while elevated, he sadly probably lost gross and fine motor skills around a minute to two minutes after the bleeding started.
 
Sorry to hear about your friend.
Sending prayers to the family.
I also will be reevaluating how to safely climb a tree and medical equipment to bring up the tree.
 
Very sorry to hear about your friend. Last year my hunting buddy got his arm cough in the gear on the back of a cement truck. He was on a platform and fell 15 ft to the next platform. His arm was almost severed. If it wasn't for a off duty medic working in the next truck he would have died in 2 minutes. They sead he died two times in the helicopter on the way to the hospital. Made me think about how fast some thing could happen and you don't have much time to get help. Sorry for your loss prayers for his family.
 
Some friction hitches can be very difficult to break even with two hands when weighted. I have started using a michoacan or an auto block. They are easier to break free under load. Very sad story,
 
Very sorry to hear this. Hope I never have to use it but I have a decent trauma kit with tourniquet, Israeli bandage, clotting powder, chest patch, etc., but sometimes it’s in my pack. Just like bear spray though it’s probably best to keep that thing right where it’s very easily accessible, for any hopes of using it especially with a limb impaired. It’s probably from reading this forum, and events like this one shared, that safety is more front of mind when I hunt now, for example keeping the quiver oriented in what seems like the safest place away from me when hiking, etc. A branch could nock an arrow out of a quiver the right way and slice you good. Anything can happen but building awareness and slowing down in the moment can’t hurt. Stay deliberate and safe out there guys.
 
I’m very sorry for your loss.

Let this be another reminder to all of us. We always need to be prepared. There is risk in every climb, even the easy ones.
 
neonomad said:
Very sorry to hear this. Hope I never have to use it but I have a decent trauma kit with tourniquet, Israeli bandage, clotting powder, chest patch, etc., but sometimes it’s in my pack. Just like bear spray though it’s probably best to keep that thing right where it’s very easily accessible, for any hopes of using it especially with a limb impaired. It’s probably from reading this forum, and events like this one shared, that safety is more front of mind when I hunt now, for example keeping the quiver oriented in what seems like the safest place away from me when hiking, etc. A branch could nock an arrow out of a quiver the right way and slice you good. Anything can happen but building awareness and slowing down in the moment can’t hurt. Stay deliberate and safe out there guys.
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similarly, i no longer walk with an arrow nocked, unless on a stalk with deer in sight (and even then it's probably dumb) and if i slip while walking, i resist the urge to protect my bow and just toss the bow away from me....it's something i have to remind myself of (like when driving at night and seeing deer i'll remind myself that it is better to hit a deer than to go out of control avoiding one)

edit: also, i'd encourage folks to use quivers that grip their arrows and retain them well....i'm glad i shoot standard diameter carbon shafts because this is easy for me
 
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Sorry for you loss and prayer to his family.

I have recently added tourniquets in all my bags and vehicles including my duck hunting boat. I heard a story on YouTube where a guy was walking with an arrow nocked and tripped and cut his arm open and nearly dies from blood loss; made the order that day. I use a safeguard but I back it up with a prussic at height. Back band usage for us hunting could keep us upright but I suppose it wouldn’t be useful for an arborist.

what a heartbreaking accident
 
For someone looking for an easy trauma kit these are hard to beat:

www.narescue.com

Individual Throw Kit

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Quality components vacuum sealed and ready to go, I have them all over the place including in my hunting pack.

I think I am going to move the tourniquet and bandage to the Marsupial Down Under Pouch this season for better access.
 
Just seeing this now. Sorry to read about this. Praying for everyone involved. So very very sad! Makes you really think about the risks we take each and every time we climb.
 
A tragic situation for the family and it really makes my heart ache for them, even though I don’t know them. It is however, another reminder that your life can turn on even a moment of inattention or even chance. I do know that complacency is a killer. In the aviation world, the new pilots are dangerous, but the pilots between the least experienced and the most experienced tend to be the most dangerous due to complacency.

So just when you think you have finally have every down, you are probably at your most dangerous level of experience. When you are standing at the bottom of the tree, if you aren’t thinking about what could happen, how you are going to prevent it from happening, and how you are going to deal with it if it happens anyway, you really aren’t fully prepared to climb the tree. And that’s not just the big pieces, but the small details like what will you need? Can you reach those things in extremis? A lot of good thoughts in the comments above to address some of those elements. It all starts with preparedness and awareness before you take your first step up, not just some of the time, but every time you climb. Prayers for the family.
 
Craft518 said:
Sorry for you loss and prayer to his family.

I have recently added tourniquets in all my bags and vehicles including my duck hunting boat. I heard a story on YouTube where a guy was walking with an arrow nocked and tripped and cut his arm open and nearly dies from blood loss; made the order that day. I use a safeguard but I back it up with a prussic at height. Back band usage for us hunting could keep us upright but I suppose it wouldn’t be useful for an arborist.

what a heartbreaking accident
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i saw that, i think it hit the artery near the skin in his armpit

there was another recent story where a guy stepped (well, got it into his thigh....so don't know the word for that) on an arrow that was broadhead up and nearly bled out

this is in part why i use a bright headlamp and don't care if it might scare a deer
 
You could probably use this thing one handed, but I haven’t actually tried it myself, and I’m sure they would recommend two hands for normal usage.

 
Prayers for the family. Sorry for your loss. I do carry a tourniquet in my pack with my first aid kit.
 
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