A tree trimmer was rescued by Phoenix firefighters Wednesday morning after getting stuck in a palm tree more than 20 feet in the air.
The man was removing branches from a palm tree at a home near 35th Avenue and Moreland Street about 8:30 a.m. when he was pinned by his ladder and the branches, authorities said.
A neighbor called 911 after noticing the man struggling and fire crews arrived minutes later.
Phoenix firefighters had to bring in a special operations unit to dislodge the worker because several thousand pounds of branches were on top of him.
It took the crews about 20 minutes to pull the worker out.
The man was transported to the hospital. His injuries did not seem to be life-threatening, authorities said.
"He's fortunate to be alive," Phoenix Fire Deputy Chief Frank Salomon said after the incident.
Other firefighters added that this type of incident happens often when tree trimmers don't work from the top down.
In some of those incidents, they said the workers have died from suffocation or blunt force trauma.
