To all the tree trimmers out there. Never, ever trim a palm tree crown from underneath the bottom. Removing the bottom fronds allows the upper frond crown to rapidly slide down on top of you. Many have died because of this. So many that some states have created laws regulating how palms must be trimmed. Raise your bids to allow use of a man lift or bucket to trim from outside the crown. Don''t be the cheap guy risking your life to trim from underneath.
Thank you for your kind explanation. I asked earlier from another video of this tragedy and got a hateful and most unhelpful reply. Poor man and his family😢
Thank you for the explanation but I still don’t understand… so the top fronds came down and crushed him? Is that how he died? From the weight of the fronds crushing him? Or did he suffocate?
That's why I didn't say anything about the Mohawk. Omg trees are scary. I don't know who I feel worse for. Tree people should know thier stuff. Why does a firefighter have to do this. You know. The video makes me sad, but maybe i will use more caution on the road tonight at work. Sorry for the bad joke example. But I thought it is kind of fitting in this context.
Why do people gives so much care about other people’s families? I see that a lot of people have a single view of life. For men it’s work (hard labor is the only “real” job), get married, buy a house, take care of that woman like a child, have babies, pay for everything, retire and than die. There is nothing else. Than repeat the cycle. Can’t have fun or have hobbies.
That poor guy will forever be on the internet for the world and his family to see. I hope it doesnt haunt his wife, siblings or children. Just a man making his living for his family :( RIP hard working man
I'm a firefighter/paramedic and I can say that I don't take these deaths home with me or to heart. Life is dangerous and all people will die, wether it be in a car accident, shoot out or a heart attack... We all must check out some kind of way.
Amazing footage showing the tremendous respect and care by the First Responders in bringing this man back on ground. Condolences to his family. May he RIP.
I am a 59 year old disabled woman who lost her husband and the love of my life at 44 years old to a pandemic before covid!! I lay here in my bed by myself day after day so when I see something like this it DOES break my HEART!! He, I am sure, has people out there that will never be the same. I would say I hope you never have to go though something like this but by the comments you make I feel sure it would not since you don’t really seem like someone that has a heart. Please tell me you are a 10 year child at least that would be a reason!
I was a tree trimmer for 10 years. My closest friend which was an tree trimmer as well died last year after falling. The harness he was wearing just broke and he fell head first into the ground. He died immediately, and that's that last time I decided to continue with that job. Is just to dangerous.
If his harness was up to date and not damaged prior to the break, they could take the harness company to court. Fall protection has to be inspected every so often and whatnot, so if it a was just a freak occurring, take the company to court for faulty fall protection! Also, sorry to hear about your loss! I can't imagine.
Oh my gosh. How in the world did this happen. This video made me cry. I cannot fathom that man being one of my sons. Thank you rescuers for your respectful care of this man. Deep sympathy for his family
I didn't understand either. But google news video on palm tree accidents and there is a guy that explains it really well. Alot goes into trimming these. Some states even have laws because so many have died.
Tree trimming and taking trees down is extremely dangerous work. I had no idea that palm trees were this dangerous. Thanks for sharing. Prayers for his family and friends.
My mom had one I helped my dad trim until he passed. I came home from work one friday and my brother in law had trimmed it. My dad told him that we would take care of debri. I rented a fifteen foot trailer and spent all day Saturday loading 2500 lbs of fronds and chain sawn pieces. he had trimmed it well and it looked like he cut it into an octogon. I knew little about the species I think it was a king something. but it was tall. This palm had green needles very sharp close to tree that could stab the crap out of you. I would tote these around to back of house to let sun dry them out so we could get them gone little by little.I never knew they caused deaths by trimming them wrong.
I've been an arborist for over two decades in the north east and I had no idea palms could do this, crazy stuff, but I would never trim branches with free weight hanging above.
I talked to a young man who had been a tree trimmer in Hawaii. He fell from a palm was unconscious for hours and when he woke up he said there were caterpillars and centipedes and all kind of weird stuff crawling all over him He broke his back.
I worked for a large company transplanting huge trees for 40 years, we also cleaned these Mexican fan palms, also known as WashingtonianRobustas frequently. We had man lifts and cranes our trimmers would prune from the top down using full body harnesses. Many pruners will do this work on the side without the equipment it’s good money but not worth the risk. What happens here is when the climber starts climbing they start spreading the Frawns to get access to the top. Most guys are in a hurry to get to the top and they grab to many frawns at one time and a large amount of frawns also known as the skirt will come down trapping the climber and his head will bend downward and they have approximately 15 minutes to breath. Unfortunately this is how they pass. We’ve seen this to many times. So sorry for the family especially to have to see this. Hopes this helps to try and put this work to rest. Rip.
Thanks for the information. This is truly scary and so sad. My family lives there in Bakersfield. Thankfully they don't have palms in their yard. RIP. Condolences to his family and loved ones
Exactly! Don't you mean "Thanks for all the people who put their lives at risk to save people who do things that put other people's lives at risk"@barrybarry5803
@@sharonwheeler3737 ~ No, no thanks at all, they're doing their job for christ sake... next thing you'll be wanting the little old lady at the school crossing to be thanked for her "service"???
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) - The children of Fermin Ulices Leiva went to see the place where their father died for the first time. They were left with many questions about how it came to this. “We are destroyed of how this went and how this happened,” said Yessica Leiva, daughter of Fermin Ulices Leyva. We tried to let him know that this is a dangerous job,” said Yessica, his daughter. But his love for climbing those trees was stronger. Leiva’s children arrived in Bakersfield to seek answers and hoping this can bring awareness of safety regulations. On Oct. 17, a man called 911 after 4 p.m. reporting he couldn’t reach his co-worker. Firefighters found Leiva unconscious stuck underneath palm fronds. Leiva was pronounced dead by the time he was found. From El Salvador, Leiva, 55, started climbing palm trees as a kid over four decades ago. Yessica said her father worked for a contractor who does not have a registered business, and has not heard from that man again. She wants her dad to be remembered for his young soul. Leiva leaves nine children behind, from ages 10 to 37. His family wants to repatriate his body to El Salvador.
I’ve been a firefighter/paramedic going on 22 years now. We have to train to adapt to the environment in which we live and although they don’t have palm trees where I live/work we have to always make sure any tech rescue is done with precision and most of all safety for us and our patient. They all did an amazing job!! ❤
I didn't realize that there was someone in all those fronds. At first I thought he touched a power line and got electrocuted. Thanks for the explanation of what happened. May his soul rest in peace..
Same here. I skipped through most of it--just dragging the slider because it was all the same--but the vid jumped from a bunch of fronds to none suddenly so I went back. Then I realized the horror that the person had been trapped inside or killed by the weight of the fronds. Thank you to the video creator for the written explanation.
I was in the tree industry for 30 years and have had close calls my heart goes out to this young mama family and to the emergency workers God bless all tree men out there stay safe 🙏
I have a coconut palm and back and you would not even believe how heavy just one frond is. This video probably will save my life because I trim it myself and I never knew this could happen.
I did it beifly professionally and a lot of ametuer cutting. It's very tricky guessing how the branch will fall, many times it doesn't fall the way it seems it would, the learning curve has to be steep or you get hurt
@@Pohonestythey absolutely can say no by not becoming a firefighter in the first place, but they choose to say yes! It's a job they choose to do, to help those that are helpless and risk their own lives in the process! Don't diminish those who put their lives on the line for others by saying "they don't have a choice, it's their job."
I ran a palm trimming company in Florida. The western Fan Palms have sharp spines in a row along the edge of the frond.Even when trimming from the top , these are the most dangerous to trim.When the fronds collapse on you , the sharp teeth grab you and you cannot work your way loose.
Exactly. I've seen their necks and backs broken from the sheer weight falling on them also. It's a horrendously sad shift when you have to recover someone like this. RIP.
@@Lemmiwinks_The_Gerbil_KingAll those dead fronds that surround the palm trunk create a round skirt around the trunk of all those fronds and it's very heavy and they can all break loose at once and fall on top of you if you're tied below the tree crushing you..
@@mikeollman3550I wouldn’t say it can crush you but if you’re looking up as it comes down they can land on your face and push your head back too far possibly breaking your neck or keeping your head pinned all the way back making breathing nearly impossible. The description said he was conscious for awhile.
As a professional tree climber, the emergency services will almost never save you. They can't. No experience, not fast enough, no real plan. The only hope of coming out of the tree alive is your own skill, and/or that of your crew. If another climber can come up as soon as you fail to respond, you have a chance.
@@flyingjew2994 in my opinion, the live feed should have been cut off the minute he was uncovered. It was obvious he had passed. After my husband unalived himself that was what I saw. This triggered my PTSD 😭. I had a rough night and woke up with a toothache. I must have been grinding my teeth. A little bit of sensoring would have helped. But the live feed should have ended once he was visible. His family could have identified him and found out that way. It breaks my heart for his family.
As a woman, I have learned how to cut trees with my husband. He can no longer do this due to his health, I am still trying. We don't have palms but all our neighbors do. I had no idea this could happen. I imagine that weight of all those fronds is enormous. I wanted to see this video in case I might learn something not to do. My heart goes out to this mans' loved ones. He didn't wake up nor climb that palm with any thoughts of dying that day. Thank you especially to the fireman on the tree, you can see how difficult it was to hang and cut without a good foothold. He did his best not to use the feet/legs of the deceased for leverage. Remember to use a chainsaw that will turn off if you let go of it. Thank you for this educational video.
Women shouldn't be doing men's jobs anyway what happens if something happens to you what is your husband going to do he needs you more than ever God made women to be women an men to be men I'm saying thus out of love I'm disabled ex tree worker an I don't know what I'd do without my wife I'd go nuts .as a Christian man I'm saying this out of love not hate women are ment to be man's companion till death an to have families with sorry if it offends you bit it's truth
I turned away for a second, then turned back and saw two men on the tree. I was like “where did the other dude come from?”. Then I thought the video was edited, until I went back in the video and saw the 2nd guy was under all that stuff on the tree! That’s when I went to the description to read about this story. How horrible and tragic.
Thank you for providing great footage. The situation was heartbreaking, and I was shocked to see something like that could happen. Prayers to all that knew who him along with the first responders. 🕊🙏🏻
In seeing the situation, yes it's so sad and disturbing.....he was working and then the accident. Props too to fire department. Must he hard but situation very sad...prayers to him and whole family....
I am so sorry for your loss!! I can’t imagine his family sitting here watching this over and over knowing he had passed away and just hanging there. I am sure the rescuer did the best they could but it is a horrific sight to see!! I can not imagine!! I lost my husband and I tell you this is a loss no one can understand unless they go through it. I am sorry this family is!! May God bless you all!!
And the rich person he was working for, that refused to pay enough to have a lift on site, is completely unharmed per usual. WAKE UP YOY WORKING CLASS, YOU ARE WAGE SLAVES AND FODDER. QUIT GIVING IN TO THEIR ABUSE AND FIGHT BACK!!!!
Just a hard-working man, trying to put food on the table and roof over the heads of the people he loves. My condolences to his family and all that loved him, his friends, and his co-workers and the first responders.
My son did this work in Colorado for a few years. He loved it but then again he had always been an adrenaline junky. I’m so happy now that he keeps both feet on the ground. This would have sent me over the edge.
I'm glad I got out of the tree industry when I did. It's not "if " something happens, it is "when" something happens. Condolences to the family and friends. RIP sir. So sad.
I'm glad this was featured on my homepage as trending, Government needs clamp down and stop palm trimmers cutting from under the skirt, you can see this skirt was massive. The death was totally avoidable very sad and hopefully this video will be the trigger to enforce a change
My heart goes out to this person’s family. It sucks when you leave in the morning to go to work so you can provide for your family and you never return. May God accept your brother in to the Gates Paradise
I had an incident like this in Tulare county and it ended up a fatal. I still thinks about it from time to time. We couldn't even get a ladder truck near the tree. Finally we got a cherry picker utility truck at the scene but it was too late the Tree trimmer sucumb to being crushed backward. Shit haunts me that we couldn't save him in time.
@@carlosgonzalez1538 all that fell on top of him it slid down from the top ass he was climbing up because it was dried ND he was cutting some parts or it just slid down cause of movement ND it was dried not sure but something like that it fell on top of him though
I remember doing this job with a guy from Mexico in Beverly Hills back in 2008. I remember one day we did 4 of these palms trees and the guy charged $4,500 for all 4 . I remember the client said “ how come you guys gonna make more money than the one I make por day” I remember my co worker answered “ ok do it yourself “ get up there and trim them next time if you don’t want to pay . + rest in peace +++
I've been an arborist for 27 years up here in Minnesota. This is absolutely heartbreaking! I'm so sorry! A guy that used to climb for me just fell and broke both his legs and back. I tried many times to teach him better safety habits. I had to get him out of a couple trees and off my customers property. This is Not about "I told you so!" It's Very Very simple! It's about Safety HABITS, Intuition and intelligence!!! 😥
If they don't compute could be they drink too much on daily basis and even sobered up they've alcohol of the brain making real poor stupid butt head decisions.
Very sad video. Thank you to the first responder for being very respectful to the individual while bringing him down. Prayers go out to this gentlemen's family for their loss.
Very informative!!! Very tragic, rest in peace sir. This is why we need uncensored news coverage so we understand the hazards CLEARLY. it makes us appreciate workers and hazards zones more. Thank you for all the responders ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ and everyone involved.
God bless the men & women EMT's and firefighters I don't know how y'all do it honestly. I worked with hospice for two years and each time someone passed away it was like a peice of my soul went with them. My toughts & prayers are with the family of this man 🙏
My deepest sympathies to family and friends. May he rest in peace . He was removed with the utmost respect and care by the people doing this, thankfully. My heart goes out to everyone involved in this as it must not be an easy thing to do. My prayers are with u all 😢 🙏💔 xo ❤
This must be one of the most horrific things I knew to happen to a human being. So sorry for what happened and for the pain family and friends of this man are experiencing. ❤
This is heartbreaking. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. The firefighters did great. Thank you for what y'all do. Doing tree work is definitely dangerous stuff
RIP to the family. One of my friend's husband fell down from 40 feet while doing this job. The tree trimming companies should provide better safety control types of equipment to avoid future accidents like this.
Not really the company's fault... When they have to deal with everybody wanting a cheaper price... When you are already working for next to nothing... When I had my last Lawn & Landscaping business... I had ONE... Customer that appreciated... The hard work and paid for a tree service to trim the trees... I didn't feel comfortable with... Because the height was more than I felt it was safe for me... In my younger days... I would climb up the trees and then sit on the top... And work my way down... Like the coconut tree climbers... Without spikes... As to not to damage the trees... The smaller ones I would use a ladder... I found it to be much safer and more EZY... Now I'm old... Disabled/Wheelchair bound... I only dream of being able to do anything... Anymore... YOU ALL LANDSCAPERS OUT THERE... Slow down... Pay attention... BE SAFE OUT THERE...
It isn’t necessarily the companies fault, you can provide all the training and equipment you want and accidents still happen and employees still do things ‘their’ way! We don’t know the circumstances yet but, you can be sure, there will be an investigation. If the employer trained the employee to trim these palms in the wrong way, it’s even more tragic but, we don’t know yet.
I was a master logger for eighteen years. Any type of tree work is dangerous. I knew of one man that was killed chaining down a load of logs when a log rolled off the truck and crushed him. Another was killed when a dead tree fell on him. I've actually ran up trees that kicked back when I was cutting them down. So sorry for this man. Always remember safety first.
I've been a tree climber for over 30 years and i have trimmed Washingtonian plams from the bottom up blessed nothing happened. Most likely died from the lack of air and dust . R.I.P.❤
We never realize the danger out there until tragedy occurs.... For all those who gave their lives in the line of duty, respect to ya'll and your families...
When the upper frond crown falls, it falls fast. In seconds it has your neck kinked and no one can get up there and remove the fronds. Never do it from below.
I can barely write this message I am crying so much. My heart and condolences go out to the family and much love and prayers as well. To all tree trimmers out there please be safe always. 😭💔🙏🫂❤️
I thought something bad was going happen to the two guys i didn't know they were a third guy in the tree. This is so heartbreaking. May this young guy RIP. Prayers for his family and his coworkers.
Your comment was very hurtful and painful to the man who responded to my condolence! I can only imagine the pain that his family and friends had to witness this tragic event to remove their loved one from a tree. It just hurts!
Ok, so the title is off. The purpose of the video still stands. It shows gratitude towards the gentleman who lost his life doing difficult and dangerous job to serve others. It also highlights the efforts of rescue and recovery teams when such a tragedy occurs. There is nothing mere about any part of what happened. Perhaps recover a little humanity.
@@dixie8885 Did I ask for your response Karen? The video is completely mistitled. Lastly, does humanity help dead people in any way or fashion? Of course it doesn't, so take your Karen reply and get lost.
Excellent and respectful first responders, condolences to this working man's family and friends. We have all made mistakes doing jobs, we're just fortunate it didn't cost our lives.
My son is a tree climber and trimmer..hes been one for almost 15 years now..and hes so very cautious, but even still you cant help but worry your ass off about him.
