Fire officials say a Pennsylvania man was lucky to survive being pinned by a nearly 7-foot chunk of ice that he knocked off the side of his house.
The Erie Times-News reports that Erie firefighters rescued the man Monday, chipping away at the 6-by-10-foot ice block and lifting it off the man's legs. The rescue took around 15 minutes.
The 67-year-old suffered only minor injuries to his right leg.
Officials say the man was trying to dislodge ice from the side of his East Eighth Street house by hitting it with a shovel when the massive chunk suddenly fell. The man fell backward onto a wood pile, which bore the brunt of the ice's impact.
Fire Chief Guy Santone says the man was "extremely lucky."
Deputy Fire Chief Mike Balliett recommends leaving ice removal to the professionals.
"I would not recommend anybody knocking icicles or any type of ice of their gutters or fascia boards... there's a lot of weight involved in this, when this falls down and hits you, you can suffer some significant injuries," he said.
