BRISTOL, N.H. (AP) – It took 13 firefighters and three police officers to lift about a ton of ice off a 49-year-old man who became pinned by the frozen mass as he pulled logs from his woodpile.

Shortly after 7 p.m. on Easter, authorities were sent to a Bristol home where the man was trapped under a fallen piece of ice estimated to weigh about 2,300 pounds, according to the Fire Department.

The victim and a woman had reportedly been collecting wood from a stack when a 15-foot-long piece of ice slid off the top of the wood pile and onto the victim.

The falling ice also pinned the female from the waist down. After about 20 minutes she was able to free herself and call for help.

The weight of the ice block was distributed between the ground and a wheelbarrow that was next to the woodpile at the time of the accident. Wood blocking was used to support the ice and prevent the victim from sustaining any further injury.

It took firefighters from two departments 20 minutes to free the man after they shoveled through the hard snow to get to him. The man, whose name was not released, suffered undisclosed injuries and was treated at a Plymouth hospital.

Bristol Fire Chief Norman Skantze said with all of the snow that has fallen this winter, coupled with the mounting roof problems that the area has seen, heavy loads of ice falling from those same rooftops is a growing problem as temperatures begin to warm up.

“We are just seeing the residual of (the winter),” said Skantze.

—

Information from: Citizen, http://www.fosters.com/citizen