Posted on 06/10/2012 6:51:19 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A man was killed Saturday while trimming a palm tree in Glendora, authorities said.
Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel responded to a 4:47 p.m. report of a distressed tree-trimmer on West Bennet Avenue near Grand Avenue, county fire department spokesman Mark Savage said.
Upon arriving at the scene, emergency crews were forced to use infrared technology to locate the man in the dense leaves and branches of the tree, Savage said.
“He was calling out for help and someone called us,” Savage said.
“When we got to the scene he was not visible and was hidden in all the palm tree fronds.”
When firefighters were able to reach the man 40 to 50 feet up in the tree, they found him dead. A witness believed the man died of apparent suffocation from an equipment strap, but the official cause of death is pending tests.
Amanda Burden, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, spoke to the victim’s stunned family and friends Saturday evening.
He identified the dead man as 35-year-old Roberto Garcia.
Jesus Rochin was the victim’s co-worker and friend. “He was up there and I heard him yell, ‘Help’ and ‘Call an ambulance.’”
Sgt. Matt Williams said, “It appears that the weight of the heavy palm fronds, all landing on his chest, caused him to suffocate and hard to breathe.”
Burden said the brush was so heavy it took thermal imaging equipment to find Garcia.
If Obama had a tree trimmer, he’d look like Roberto.
That does it. No more pending tests for me.
We need to get these dangerous trees out of peoples yards. You know to save the tree trimmers. Outlaw them ASAP.
I’m still trying to get over the reporter’s use of “brush” where “foliage” would have been the correct word.
Trees kill. We must cut them all down. Apologies to Rush (the band, not Limbaugh).
Obama IS a trimmer, and a liar to boot.
No need to outlaw the trees. Just outlaw the fronds. The fronds is to blame.
Actually, it’s the heavy fronds what done him in. Outlaw all heavy palm fronds. Sorta like heavy flushing toilets. Mandate that only light palm fronds are permitted on people’s palm trees.
While this type of accident is not necessarily common, it happens regularly in the southwest where palm trees grow abundantly and need regular trimming. The trimmer usually climbs the tree with “spikes” on their shoes/boots with a chain saw in hand. If the trimmed skirt of old palm fronds being trimmed off comes loose, it can crush the worker. Sometimes it is a helper on the ground who is buried. These shirts can weigh as much as 1,000-2,000 pounds. They will crush a man easily. I know of three instances of this happening in the Phoenix metropolitan area alone in the last few years where the trimmers were killed. Palm tree trimming, without using the proper equipment, is a very dangerous job.
Its really quite simple.
Foliage doesn't sound or look like any other word.
Brush on the other hand looks like Bush.
So the trimmer dieing is all BUSH'S fault.
Yes, once again, brilliant journalism on parade. Apparently, they just type in a few words between bong hits.
How about this gem:
...heavy palm fronds, all landing on his chest, caused him to suffocate and hard to breathe.”
For a while some punks found it fun to set the dead fronds hanging down on fire.
For a while some punks found it fun to set the dead fronds hanging down on fire.
Leni
Actually brush is correct, arborists refer to all material removed from the tree as brush. As in drag the brush to the chipper.
The fire department spokesman made the more glaring error as far as I am concerned. Palms do *not* have branches.
This is not pointed at your comment...in no way.
In Panama, no one cares. A palm frond dries up and falls to the ground is a natural act of nature. Just don’t park a car under a dead palm frond ready to fall.
When it hits the ground, the garbage folks take care of the rest...Period...and no one dies.
P.S.
This is not the government’s problem. It is the responsibility of the person to use good judgment.
But then, we are not a nation of lawsuits. Good judgment still reigns.
If he was doing it for profit, I’d bet he was unlicenced. Just wait until his family and pals get a lawyer to sue for everything off whoever hired him.
Prayers up for his soul.
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