A man was injured Sunday when a tree crashed through the roof of his Renton apartment while he slept on his living-room couch.
The roughly 200-foot-high fir tree crashed through the roof of the two-story, six-unit apartment building in the 22200 block of 196th Avenue Southeast at about 7:15 a.m. Sunday. It had been toppled by a windstorm that also damaged power lines and other trees and knocked out power for some residents as it blew through the area.
Crews with the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority found the man, who is in his 60s, conscious but with his torso pinned under the tree. South King County and Seattle Fire also responded with rescue personnel and resources, including a crane to lift the tree. They eventually freed the man by entering the apartment through the floor, said Capt. Joe Root of the fire authority.
In all, 14 units responded from around the community and the man was on the way to the hospital within 41 minutes from the initial call for help from a nearby resident, according to a news release from the fire authority.
While first responders initially thought the man’s injuries were critical, he was treated and released from Harborview Medical Center on the same day, Harborview spokeswoman Susan Gregg said in an email Monday morning.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Susan Gregg’s last name.