The man jumped about 25 feet into a makeshift net after the lift caught fire near power lines.
OXFORD, AL — Oxford firefighters rescued a man Aug. 14, 2021, after a cherry picker caught fire at Hooligans Harley Davidson on Davis Loop, leaving him trapped about 25 feet above the ground.
The rescue drew wide attention after video showed flames and smoke rising from the lift while firefighters gathered below. The man could not be brought down at first because the lift had made contact with power lines, fire officials said. Crews built a makeshift safety net from a tent as the fire grew. The man jumped, landed in the net and was later flown to UAB Hospital for treatment of a leg injury and smoke inhalation.
Oxford Fire Department crews were called at 2:50 p.m. to the business on Davis Loop after reports that a man was trapped on a lift that had caught fire. When firefighters arrived, the lift was burning and the man was still in the bucket. Fire officials said there was no safe way to remove him until power to the lines was cut. As smoke thickened around the bucket, crews on the ground moved quickly to create another option. Oxford fire officials later credited Battalion Chief Curtis Cupp, saying his “quick thinking saved this man’s life.”
The video showed firefighters and others holding the tent open beneath the lift while the man stood near the edge of the bucket. Flames burned below him, and smoke moved upward around the equipment. After a short delay, the man jumped from the bucket and dropped into the tent. The landing appeared forceful, but the net slowed his fall enough for firefighters to reach him. Officials did not release the man’s name or age. They said he was taken by air to UAB Hospital in Birmingham with smoke inhalation and a leg injury.
The incident happened at Hooligans Harley Davidson, a motorcycle dealership in Oxford, a city in Calhoun and Talladega counties in eastern Alabama. Fire officials said the lift made contact with overhead power lines before the fire. They did not say what work the man had been doing on the lift or whether he was an employee, contractor or visitor. No other injuries were reported in the accounts released after the rescue. The fire department’s video and statement became widely shared by local and national outlets in the days after the incident.
Firefighters faced two dangers at the same time: the growing fire and the energized power lines. Until the power was shut off, crews could not use normal methods to reach the man without risking electrocution. The tent gave crews a temporary safety system while they waited for conditions to change. Fire officials said the man made the jump as the fire grew, and the landing in the tent prevented a direct fall to the ground. The department described the move as a life-saving decision made under fast-changing conditions.
The rescue also focused attention on the role of aerial lifts near electrical lines. A cherry picker, also called a bucket lift or boom lift, raises workers above ground for jobs such as maintenance, signs, tree work and utility service. In this case, officials said the equipment contacted power lines, setting off the emergency. Fire officials did not announce any charges or enforcement action after the rescue. They also did not release a final cause report beyond the statement that the lift had made contact with the lines.
Video of the rescue spread because it showed the full danger of the scene in less than a minute. The man was stranded above flames with little room to move. Firefighters below used what was available at the scene rather than wait for a standard rescue setup that could not be used safely near live wires. The department’s statement praised Cupp and the crew for making a fast decision. Local reports said the man survived and was treated for injuries that were not described as fatal.
As of the latest public reports, the man had been hospitalized after the jump, and Oxford fire officials had not released further details on his recovery. The next official step, if any, would come from fire investigators, workplace safety officials or the property owner.
Author note: Last updated July 7, 2026.