WHITE COUNTY, Ga. — White County Firefighter Owen Pitchford nearly lost his life.
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“I kid you not, it brushed me. I could feel the limbs hit my shoulder,” Pitchford said.
The limbs of a 50-foot pine, that came within an inch or two of hitting him right on the head.
Pitchford and a crew from White County Fire Station 2 had raced down Duncan Bridge Road Sunday afternoon to rescue a resident trapped in his vehicle by a toppled tree. In that area, last weekend’s ice storm caused incredible damage.
There were so many downed trees that firefighters had to cut their way down the road to make a path big enough to get their truck through.
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“Once the wind started up, that’s when the trees started popping. It was one after another,” Fire Captain Robby Burke said.
Burke says the trees were coming down all around them, and one was headed for Pitchford, who couldn’t hear it because he was running a chainsaw.
That’s when fellow firefighter Stephen Martin screamed as loud as he could.
“Hey, watch out! Something like that. I was trying to get him to pick his head up and pay attention to what was coming at him,” Martin said.
Pitchford heard and moved.
“I was inches away from getting hit by a full-grown pine tree. Because of Martin, I’m still here. I can go home to my family and still be able to provide a service with the county,” Pitchford said.
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