An arborist was pruning a cotton palm, also known as Washington Filifera, to remove the large skirt of dead palm leaves (fronds). The cotton palm was situated on a residential block and was approximately 22 metres tall. An elevated work platform (EWP) was unable to be used, as there was not enough room to extend the outriggers and a self-propelled EWP did not have the required reach to access the top of the palm.
The arborist had pruned the majority of the dead fronds when the skirt fell down, trapping him against the trunk of the palm. It took about one and a half hours before emergency services were able to rescue him. Similar incidents have occurred overseas where palm skirts have detached and fallen on climbers, resulting in suffocation. In this case, the arborist sustained severe bruising to the upper body.
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