By Max Darrow

    TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) -- Firefighters in Tucson, Arizona rescued a man who got trapped in a palm tree Wednesday.

What was supposed to be a routine tree trimming job, turned into a life or death situation.

Tucson Fire Captain Andy Skaggs said the man is lucky to be alive.

The majority of the time when we do get calls like this, the outcome is not as good as it was today, Skaggs said.

Timing was everything for this rescue on the eastside. Firefighters practiced for this exact situation last week, according to Capt. Skaggs.

There were many safety precautions that were in place to ensure that he was not going to make it to the ground, Skaggs said.

Russel Moser trims palm trees for a living as the owner of Pima Palm and Tree Service. The person involved in the rescue was not his employee. However, he said he can understand how dangerous these situations can be, especially when the trees they work have gone untrimmed for a long time.

"It's a ticking time bomb that at any moment could fall down and pin you, if you're the climber," he said. "A lot of dangers present themselves with these palm trees."

Moser continued to say that even the most experienced trimmers can find themselves in a dangerous situation, at a moment's notice.

"It definitely makes me think about all of the things that can go wrong, because you do get complacent," he said. "I hope he's OK."

The man who was rescued is okay and didn't need to go to the hospital. TFD said he was back on his feet minutes after the rescue.

The-CNN-Wire

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