COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WKRN) – Google “most dangerous jobs in America” and logging will be right near the top.

According to Columbia Fire and Rescue, a resident doing some backyard tree trimming experienced that first hand after a large branch he was cutting fell on top of his leg.

The call to 911 came in Sunday at around 10:30 a.m.

When first responders arrived, they found a 51-year-old man pinned under a large tree branch in the backyard.

“My husband’s foot is stuck underneath a tree,” the man’s wife told 911.

Fire crews quickly arrived and begin a delicate extrication using rescue jacks.

“When we got to the scene, we recognized real quickly the tree was in the air, leaning on a limb on this man’s foot, so it was more than just picking a log up off a person’s foot,” said Brian O’Cain, assistant chief of Columbia Fire & Rescue.

According to O’Cain, the problem was the tree was dangling in the air, so first responders needed to stabilize the heavy tree while, at the same time, lift it off the victim.

When asked why a chain saw was a bad idea, O’Cain said, “In that case. we could’ve caused more harm cutting the tree limb. As it cuts and the tree starts turning, and creating more pressure.”

According to O’Cain, the jacks are used in many extrication scenarios which is why crews practice different scenarios using them.

Monday morning, a shift of firefighters was training with the tool simulating an overturned car, attaching the equipment to a dumpster behind their fire station.

“And it’s all about angles; you can’t have too much of an angle. You have to concentrate on
the triangle effect to capture it for the most stabilization,” O’Cain said.

As it relates to the tree rescue, O’Cain said crews used two rescue jacks with a chain up against a tree in a triangle formation and lifted it.

The man did not suffer any life threatening injuries, according to Columbia Fire & Rescue.