More Global Warming

Not my friends John and Kelley, luckily. This incident took place 4 miles west from here as the crow flies.

BRISTOL NH- It took 16 people — 13 firefighters and three police officers — to lift about a ton of ice off a 49-year-old man who became pinned by the frozen mass as he pulled logs from his woodpile.Shortly after 7 p.m. on Easter Sunday, members of the Bristol Fire Department were dispatched to 1441 Peaked Hill Road after emergency operators received a report of a person trapped under a fallen piece of ice estimated to weigh about 2,300 pounds, according to a Fire Department statement issued Monday.

The victim and a woman had reportedly been working outside of their home collecting wood from a stack when a 15-foot-long piece of ice slid off the top of the wood pile and onto the victim. The sheer size and weight of the ice trapped the man underneath.The falling ice also pinned the female from the waste down.

After about 20 minutes she was able to free herself and call for help.The weight of the ice block was distributed between the ground and a wheelbarrow that was next to the woodpile at the time of the accident. Wood blocking were used to support the ice and prevent the victim from sustaining any further injury.

It took firefighters from two departments 20 minutes to free the man after they shoveled through the hard snow to get to him. The man, whose name was not released, suffered undisclosed injuries.Rescue workers credit the woman's ability to free herself and call for help with saving the man's life.

Bristol Fire Chief Norman Skantze said with all of the snow that has fallen this winter coupled with the mounting roof problems that the area has seen, heavy loads of ice falling from those same roof tops is a growing problem as temperatures begin to warm up.Skantze said he has seen several cases where businesses had blocked off areas where these ice blocks have fallen or were going to fall. However these warning signs are not always present.

The Bristol Fire Department is urging all residents to be mindful and avoid driving, walking or parking in areas located beside or under roof overhangs that still have unusually large amounts of snow and ice built up."We are just seeing the residual of (the winter)," said Skantze.

After being freed, the man was transported to Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth were he was treated for his injuries