Three fire companies were called out for a rescue call in the woods in Black Lick Township on Sunday morning.
Indiana County 911 reported that a physical rescue call was made at 6:13 AM on Mahan School Road in Black Lick Township. The Black Lick, Blairsville and Aultman fire departments and Citizen’s Ambulance were all dispatched to the scene at the time. Black Lick fire officials said on the department’s Facebook page that the individual, who was identified only as a male, got himself stuck in the top half of his tree stand, with the other half between six and eight feet below him. Crews used rope rescue equipment and a 30 foot ladder to move the bottom half of the tree stand back up to the hunter, who was then able to get himself down without injury.
Officials also said that the hunter was lucky as he was not wearing a safety harness, and could have fallen about 24 feet to the ground, causing either serious injury or death. They say that hunters should invest in a safety harness as, in their words, the cost of a harness is “cheaper than hospital or funeral expenses.”
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