Experts Urge Safety Harness Use After Two Area Tree Stand Deaths

November 26, 2009

Fatal tree stand accidents have experts, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, urging hunters to wear a safety harness when using a tree stand.

In October, Todd Burgess, 39, of Brewton, died after falling about 15 feet from a tree stand in the Damascus community of Escambia County, Alabama. Burgess, a native of Jay, had killed a deer with a bow and arrow from the stand. He called his wife, who was hunting on a nearby food plot, to let her know that he was headed down to retrieve the deer, according to Mike Lambert, Escambia County (Ala.) chief deputy. When he did not arrive at the wife’s location, his brothers began to look for him and found him dead, Lambert said.

Last Saturday, Pace resident Anthony Eddie Vanna, 33, died after falling from his tree stand in the Blackwater River State Forest near Munson. Vanna was muzzleloader hunting for deer when he fell 23.5 feet. He apparently was attempting to come down the tree at sundown.

huntsafety10.jpgLambert said that hunters should use a safety harness when using a tree stand for added safety. The harnesses, he said, sell for as little as about $80.

“That $80 is a cheap insurance policy,” he said.

Bill Cline, the Florida Fish and Wildlife’s section leader for hunter safety and public shooting ranges, said anyone who hunts from a tree stand should wear a safety harness.

“If you’re going to leave the ground, you need to wear a full body harness. If a hunter isn’t willing to do that, they need to stay on the ground. It’s that simple,” Cline said.

Hunters who use older tree stand belts or upper-chest straps should discard them, Cline said. He encourages hunters to visit MyFWC.com/HunterSafety and take the free online tree stand safety course.

Comments

4 Responses to “Experts Urge Safety Harness Use After Two Area Tree Stand Deaths”

  1. jesse on December 30th, 2013 8:48 pm

    Treestand safety harnesses should be a required item when hunting from a tree stand just like a life vest is required when your in a boat

  2. bleh on November 26th, 2009 5:24 pm

    You could be even safer by not climbing up a tree stand to start with

  3. bill on November 26th, 2009 6:34 am

    I used to hunt as well and so many times I have gotten sleepy. I do understand that love for hunting, but every year I hear someone say that would climb 25, 30 or even 50 feet if the tree permitted them to get that high. Dont let foolishness over rule that love, wear a harness designed to hold more than your weight. For your own safety as well as love of your family. Wheelchairs and living in a bed the rest of you life, just not going to be so great. Just ask someone in a wheelchar or bed how much they would love to have that mobility back.
    My prayers for the family.

  4. GRITS on November 26th, 2009 1:49 am

    Thanks for bringing this to our attention, William.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports 

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