Ex-Charlotte fire captain who plunged 25 feet off tree hunting returns home
A retired Charlotte fire captain was flown back to the Queen City on an Atrium Health “air ambulance” on Thursday, weeks after he was seriously hurt when he plunged 20 to 25 feet off a tree in Kansas.
Tripp Fincher broke his pelvis, sternum and some ribs and suffered a collapsed lung, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
He and two other retired firefighters were in Severy, Kansas, setting up chairs high on trees Sept. 3 to prepare to hunt, Lester Oliva, spokesperson for the nonprofit Salute to Heroes Charlotte Foundation, told the Observer.
“It’s a miracle he had cellphone reception and could call for help because he “was deep in the woods,” Oliva said.
Atrium Health Pineville Rehabilitation Hospital was set to welcome Fincher to its facility at 2 p.m. Thursday for treatment and rehabilitation, but the flight “was significantly delayed,” according to an Atrium Health news release just before 4:30 p.m. The delay also canceled a media event.
Fincher arrived in Charlotte early Thursday evening, the Charlotte Fire Department said in a tweet at 7:22 p.m.
The Salute to Heroes Charlotte Foundation raised $30,640 from 222 donors within a day on GoFundMe to fly Fincher home and help pay for his extensive rehabilitation. The foundation set a goal of $75,000.
The amount raised by 1:30 p.m. Thursday: $57,252 from 431 donors.
Fincher joined Charlotte Fire in 1990 and was promoted to captain in 2002, according to a city of Charlotte news release. He retired May 11, 2019, “after more than two decades of dedicated service,” city officials said in the release.
Fincher responded to thousands of calls for help and deployed many times to rescues and other emergencies locally and nationally with the Charlotte Fire Urban Rescue unit at Station 11, officials said in the release.
He also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for first responders and their families in times of need, according to the release.
Donations for Fincher and his family also can be mailed to Salute to Heroes Charlotte Foundation, 11809 Pheasant Lane, Charlotte, NC 28277. Write “FOR TRIPP” in the memo line on checks.
This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 12:08 PM.