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Logging Accident Reviews

Started by Woodhog, January 09, 2005, 06:49:01 AM

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beenthere

Logging accident this past Friday in central WI. First reports were that a logger was killed when run over by a machine.
Latest news, with name, is that he was with a logging partner who found him on the ground with his saw still running. Apparently a large limb hit him on his helmeted head while falling a tree.

http://www.weau.com/home/headlines/Man-dies-in-logging-accident-in-Monroe-Co-259673061.html

May he rest in peace, and prayers for his family.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

lamimartin

Quote from: Phorester on February 02, 2012, 09:31:15 PM

A couple days ago a Virginia logger was injured while he was cutting a tree.  A large limb fell out of the tree toward him.  Evidently he heard it, looked up and put the running chainsaw up over his head to ward off the blow. My guess its that it was a reflex action.   The saw was slammed down onto his hard hat by the falling limb.  Cut through his hardhat and into his skull.  Last I heard today was he was still alive but in serious condition.

Last year, I was walking around mature threes that were to be removed for a construction project. I just reminded my 82 years old father to pick a hard hat as I was expecting to start falling one of them in the next few minutes (he's a former lumberjack). It was a sunny day with barely any wind. Just seconds after he passed a big sugar maple tree, a large branch fell off  a few feet behind him.  The branch was as big as a man's leg... if he had been hit a few seconds earlier he could certainly have been killed.  If I had chosen that three without looking up first, it could have been my turn as well.

Falling threes or just even walking trough the woods without looking up first is really asking for trouble.  We've been fortunate this time, but did I ever get scared !  The most simple things that are overlooked can be deadly mistakes !

Living in the forest is great, but there are dangers that cannot be ignored.
1964 Oliver 550 tractor, 41hp with custom loader and roof. Interforst SW6600 PTO driven 3tons winch. Stihl MS660 for Logosol M8 Sawmill and Stihl MS261 for firewood.

so il logger

This is the only B.S. thread that I have found here. If I would have seen it before I would have never joined. Sure it may be informative but as a faller myself I could just imagine somebody putting me on the thread as well god forbid something like that happen. These real life logger's are gone, and I'm sure they would not approve of the accident that took them making the newest topic here. Feel free to ban me  ;D But I have lost friends due to logging, and I am glad I didn't see they're names. It is a dangerous job, everyone know's that, carry on

SwampDonkey

Sorry you feel that way, but it's a constant reminder to be careful out there. Very few names are shown and mostly what the families, media and workman's compensation have posted. You can choose not to read it, doesn't change much when they bury your/my comrade.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

so il logger

True  :) I have thought about it and it's no different than newspaper or other media

sawguy21

A very experienced faller was on a fire line when he was hit and killed instantly by a falling tree yesterday. According to the news story the tree he was working dislodged another, he didn't hear it due to the noise of the helicopters. The front lines of a fire are downright scary, I don't miss it at all.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Magicman

Our community just experienced a tragic logging accident.  The area is so wet and muddy that the loaded trucks/trailers are having to be towed out behind a dozer to high/dry ground.  The trailer was loaded and the hookup was made.  The dozer operator was given the go ahead to make the pull.  No one noticed that the truck driver had gotten out and was, for some reason, between the truck and loaded trailer.  He was run over and crushed by the loaded trailer.

I personally know and go to church with the 38 year old dozer operator who is devastated.  The truck driver was a single parent and leaves three young children.
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It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

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petefrom bearswamp

Maybe this is why Logging is second behind Iron Working in the workers comp list of most dangerous jobs.
I am not a logger but have spent a good amount of time felling in timber stand improvement and firewood cutting as well as a small logging jobs for my mill.
Been hit on the noggin three times  and cut once. glancing blows all.
Lucky i guess.
I admire those who do this dangerous occupation for a living.
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beenthere

Must not have been given the "go ahead" by the driver. Hard to piece together just who directed the dozer operator to begin pulling.
Sad, to say the least.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

AlaskaLes

I stumbled across this thread recently and have come back here just to remind myself that I can't be too careful.
I've worked in the fields of Aviation Maintenance and Tactical Firearms Instruction and several others.

These two stand out because they are deadly and the loss of one of the workers in these fields always prompts a review of current tactics, techniques and procedures.  I have learned MANY valuable lessons from peoples misfortune and I feel that one of the best ways to honor someone's demise, is to learn from them.

These days, I'm constantly working in the trees and I have made it a point recently to take extra measures to try to survive this life I love so much.
Thanks for sharing these lessons...Please continue.
You can see Mt McKinley from our backyard...Up Close!!

Mighty Mite MK 4B, full-hyd, diesel bandmill
Kubota 4wd 3650GST w/FEL; Forks;
3pt Log Arm& Log trailer
Husky 394XP
Husky 371XP
Husky 353
Echo 330T
Nyle 200M
Robar RC-50 50BMG-just in case the trees get out of line

AlaskaLes

I'd like to share one from our woods here.
2 Winters ago, I was out in our woods with a good friend who likes to hang out and help out during his off season.
He's an easy going, somewhat sarcastic, former Army Ranger...not sure how that all blends, but you get the idea.
I was dropping trees for a new shooting range driveway and he was helping to buck up what I put down.
After felling 4 or 5 med and large Birch, I was about to caution him about the tree he was starting to limb and it's precarious position.  It had dropped across a stump 3' off the ground and parked there.  My friend did his usual "yeah, yeah!, I know." and I shrugged it off and went back to limbing other trees.

When I'm working a saw, there's not much time off of the trigger.  Several minutes later, I paused to move and heard him yelling to me.
He's sitting on the ground, back to another tree, holding his arm.
Turned out he had basically trimmed the legs out from under this large tree and wasn't planning what would happen next.  The tree lost it's balance and rolled/spun down off of the stump and a 3-4" branch came around and caught his forearm just past the elbow.  He broke his arm in 3 places.
Not a good day!!
We spoke a few days after he got it set and casted and he said "Next time I tell you Yeah, yeah!!...just tell me to shut up, and go ahead with your safety speech anyway."
End result: He learned to listen and I learned to continue with the safety reminders. 
We ALL need them.
You can see Mt McKinley from our backyard...Up Close!!

Mighty Mite MK 4B, full-hyd, diesel bandmill
Kubota 4wd 3650GST w/FEL; Forks;
3pt Log Arm& Log trailer
Husky 394XP
Husky 371XP
Husky 353
Echo 330T
Nyle 200M
Robar RC-50 50BMG-just in case the trees get out of line

Abethetenacious


Jeff

You can find a discription and diagram of a dutchman here, https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/logging/manual/felling/cuts/dangers.html

Basically, its a poorly constructed notch where the notch cuts do not meet, leaving a shelf that doesn't keeps the "hinge" from fully closing. The  shelf can cause the hinge to break before the trees falling direction has been committed,  causing it to to go astray or it can cause the tree to stall and not fall.   It can also be used as a technique to turn a tree.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Abethetenacious

I for one am glad there is not a lot of activity on the health and safety board.been around it long enough to know some folks that either aren't around anymore or won't ever log again.and really I'm not a troll! 2years ago this week, a friend of mines husband died in the log Wood's.he was a pro,and will always be missed. Please be safe out there,that is something we can all agree on.

Abethetenacious

Thanks Jeff,was wondering what a Dutch notch was all about.is there any reason to use a Dutch notch

lxskllr

Boss went to a viewing today. A guy he knew that had been cutting for years got killed by a tree. The story I heard third hand was a tree he was cutting was full of vines, and it spun off the stump and hit his head. Killed him instantly.

sawguy21

I lost a long time friend a month ago. He didn't show up in town so his buddies went looking for him, they found him on the log landing pinned under the wheel of his pickup. Apparently he had been having trouble with the starter.
Ironically the truck was due to go in the shop the next day for a transmission related recall, they had a problem with popping out of park. For some reason, he neglected to set the parking brake.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

lxskllr

Condolences Sawguy. That's actually one of my biggest fears. Working on a truck, and having it come down on top of me. I always try to find something to put under the frame, so me and/or the ground isn't the first thing it hits if it comes off a jack.

lxskllr

Draftsman just told me a school near is house was getting tree work done, and a climber fell out of the tree and into the chipper  D^:

Word is he's still alive, but lost both arms. Twenty year old kid. No words... Gotta wonder who thought it was a good idea to put the chipper right in the work zone. There's no finer points about that accident, and it doesn't take a tree specialist to see the potential problems of that setup  :^S

Wudman

One of my contractors broke his arm last week.  He was felling a large oak and it brushed a smaller poplar on the way down.  A limb catapulted  from the poplar and caught him.  It glanced off his hardhat and hit him between the wrist and elbow of his left arm breaking both bones.  He is scheduled to have it plated this week.  He said he was watching the fall of the oak and never saw the poplar limb until it hit him, but he did walk away from it.

Wudman
"You may tear down statues and burn buildings but you can't kill the spirit of patriots and when they've had enough this madness will end."
Charlie Daniels
July 4, 2020 (2 days before his death)

Ron Scott

Certainly may have been worse if not for the hardhat taking some of the hit.
~Ron

Hickory Bow


421Altered

Near where I live a 77 year old man was killed when attempting to push down a dead tree with the bucket of his tractor.  The top of the tree fell back onto the roof of the tractor, crashing through and killing the man.  I have no first hand knowledge of the accident, just forwarding the info from local sheriff's office.  However, I do know for a fact that he was buried last week.  Dead trees can be more dangerous than live trees, be careful!

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