Ouch!
At first I was thinking "If you going to use the ladder, at extend it high enough (clearly had 4-6 feet further to go).
Then I saw: well...not sure what his final fate is after 911...but that extra 6 feet he didn't fall may have saved his life!
(or, maybe he could have reached the tree to do an undercut so it would have broken off clean, rather than swinging around)
Wonder if that branch stub is still there or if they got it cleaned up proper?