Around 3 p.m. Saturday, firefighters and paramedics were called to Forest Drive, in Aberdeen, for a high angle rescue. Firefighters arrived on scene to find a man stuck approximately 60 feet in a tree.

Multiple agencies responded to the scene to rescue the homeowner who was attempting to cut the tree down in the Sherwood Park subdivision.

“The man was cutting trees when he became overheated and began to experience heat cramps causing his hands to lock up,” said Joe Mancos, an expert in the field of high angle rescues.

Mancos told Sandhills Sentinel, “Before I arrived on scene, they were going to bring in a ladder or tower truck from Southern Pines or Aberdeen, but it was too tight. They didn’t believe they would have enough room between fences to get the outriggers out and level. I told them I would just climb it.”

After getting about three-quarters of the way up, Mancos was able to communicate with the man.

“I was going to use a pulley system, and the guys on the ground were going to lower him,” said Mancos. “My job was to attach the system and get out the way. Firefighters were using ropes to give him Pedialyte the entire time. Once I was able to communicate with him, and we could only hear each other, he told me the cramps were feeling better, and he felt safer climbing down.”

The rescue took about an hour and a half. The victim was checked by paramedics on scene and released. He is doing well.

“I’m just glad he is down and safe,” said Mancos.

Responding to the scene were Aberdeen Fire and Rescue, Pinebluff Fire and Rescue, Southern Pines Fire and Rescue, Westend Fire and Rescue, Moore County EMS, and High Angle Rescue Expert Joe Mancos.

~Written by Sandhills Sentinel Reporter Curtis Self.