KEY POINTS

  • High winds in the Pacific Northwest nearly crushed a man after a 200-foot tree fell into an apartment building
  • A 200-foot tree pinned the man a man in his 60s across his pelvis while he was sleeping on his couch
  • It took rescuers one hour and 40 minutes to extricate the man due to the complexity of the entrapment

A man was nearly crushed when a tree crashed into his living room as high winds continue its assault across the Pacific Northwest.

Puget Sound Fire and King County Medic One were dispatched around 7:15 a.m. at the 22200 block of 196 Ave SE after a 200-foot tree fell through the middle of a six-unit, two story apartment building.

The tree, which went through the second story, pinned a man in his 60s across his pelvis while he was sleeping on his couch in his living room, Puget Sound Fire said in a Facebook post.

Ambulance
In this photo, an ambulance transporting a patient is reflected in the window of another ambulance at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, Oct. 9, 2008. David McNew/Getty Images

A Zone 3 rescue response was requested to bring specialized equipment and trained technicians to the scene “due to the nature of the call and the complexity of the extrication.”

The Seattle Fire Department was also requested to provide additional assistance to free the man, the post added.

It took first rescuers one hour and 40 minutes to extricate the man.

“Due to the complex nature of the entrapment, the need to stabilize the structure and the tree, and the need to protect the patient from further injury, the extrication took an extended period of time,” said Puget Sound Fire.

The man was transported by Medic One in critical but stable condition.

The apartment's property manager is working with a tree removal service and board up company to secure the building, while its remaining residents were temporarily displaced.

Aside from the near-fatal incident, a cold front that swept past western Washington also rendered nearly 20,000 customers without power. The Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium was also closed Sunday due to power outage, while both directions of Interstate 84 was also closed, said Fox News.

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