Tulsa Man Dies From Injuries After Being Electrocuted While Tree Trimming

The Tulsa Fire Department says a man has died after being electrocuted while tree trimming. 

The fire department says the man was trimming a tree at a home near 31st and Utica when he came into contact with the electric line. 

They say his co-workers helped get him to a more stable place so first responders could apply first aid. The man was taken to a hospital, where he later died. 

A local arborist says this is heartbreaking because accidents can happen to even the most experienced people. 

Brad Carrico owns Custom Cuts Tree Care, a different tree-trimming company, and has worked in the business for 20 years. He says it's a dangerous industry. 

"All you can do is try to mitigate the dangers and mitigate the risk, but accidents do happen," he said.

He says he's always making sure he and his crew are wearing the right protective gear, and when encountering a power line, it's best to call a utility company like PSO. 

"You need to stay six, ten feet away from them; if there's a concern, you call PSO, and they'll come out and do a make safe for you, so you can operate safely and efficiently," he said.

Carrico says even the most experienced arborist can get hurt.

He says there's a long list of dangers that he and his crew face every day. 

"You've got heavy equipment, you've got dangerous loads of trees on houses, plus you're high up off the ground, our general liability and workers comp is higher than other industries because of that," Carrico said.

He says the local arborist community is a tight-knit group, and this is a tragedy because it could happen to anyone. 

"We're like brothers; we know one another, even though we're competitors, we're still friends, so it's a tragedy for the whole industry when something like this happens," he said.

The name of the man who died has not been released.