another tree cutting dangers

[rocky2]

An Amish man from Indiana County died Tuesday afternoon after a large branch fell on him in Hempfield Township where he was cutting trees.
Daniel H. Byler, 24, of Rochester Mills, was part of a two-person crew cutting timber in a wooded area north of Route 30 near Adamsburg when the accident occurred at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Byler was cutting a large tree that was connected to another tree by vines. When the tree fell, the vines snapped a large branch on the other tree. That branch fell and struck Byler on the head, according to Westmoreland County Deputy Coroner Joseph Musgrove.

 

[RoyJackson]

When I had my stroke, I was in Rehab for 6 weeks or so. My room mate was a guy in his mid to late 50's who had a branch hit him in the back of the head or neck. He had, an will have, extremely limited mobliity the rest of his life. He can barely get around with a walker..steps are out of the question..and someone's going to have to clean him up after using the toilet. Man, I think I'd eat a bullet if that happened to me.

I lost my entire right side, but did recover 90% of usage. This poor guy will never..never be right again.

He and his son were clearing an area when the accident happened. Probably, the only thing saved him was a neighbor with a cell phone (or CB).

Tragic...

I know I'll never use a chain saw again...just don't have the dexderity if something happened (also don't have the balance). This poor guy will never get off his drive way other then in a handicapped van.

For you PA guys, this happened in Muddy Creek Forks, southern York County.

 

[dmccarty]

rocky2,

Thats a freaky story. Last weekend I was clearing up some
dead and downed trees. One of them was a dead ceder,
maybe 5 inches in diameter. I did not notice the grape vine
that had gone from one tree top into the top of the ceder.

When I cut the ceder that vine swung the tree around about
90 degrees. Not fun. And the tree did not fall. I had to cut
the vine to down the tree. The tree would not have seriously
hurt me unless it cause me to do something with the chainsaw
but it certainly could have bruised me up.....

I have tried to pull these vines out of trees with my 4n1 FEL.
It does not usually work unless the vines are very small. Its
amazing how strong these vines can be.....

I look up for window makers. Now I have to watch for
vines.... /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Later,
Dan

 

[jtn]

A logger friend of mine cut a large oak that hit a snag (standing dead tree) on the way down. The snag was weakened by the impact and as he was limbing fell over knocking him unconcious. Another guy he was working working with took him to the emergency room. He was wearing a hard hat that saved his life although all the suspension was broken out of it from the impact.

What this and the other stories tell us:

1. Always wear a hard hat when felling trees
2. Be aware of dead limbs and snags in the area and clear them first if possible.
3. Be aware of vines in the trees.
4. Always push widowmakers down with a machine.

JT

 

[Moon]

Sorry for the newbie question ....but what is a "widow maker" in regards to felling trees. I'm doing a fair amount of clearing and have loads of vines and dead wood on my property ....but not sure what to look out for in regards to a widow maker.
Thanks,
Moon

 

[Golfgar4]

A widowmaker is a dead branch, generally a rather large branch, that has broken off the main trunk but not fallen to the ground. It's hung up in the tree, and will generally fall when another part of the tree is being worked on and another branch that is providing some support to the widowmaker is cut or gets moved. Usually a person doesn't notice the widowmaker until just before it lands on you./w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif Thus the name widowmaker.

 

[MarkV]

I agree with Golfgar4’s description but will also include dead trees. A dead tree is very unpredictable as to how it will fall or fall a part. You have to be very careful and preferably push them down with heavy equipment.

A close call with a limb finally got me to wise up and buy a logging helmet and chaps. Things go wrong way to fast to take a chance with chain saw safety. Now I will not start a chain saw with out the safety equipment on. Paranoid? Maybe, but at least two members on the forum have shared experiences with a chain saw that could have been life changing or life taking. So I’ll wear the safety stuff.

MarkV

 

[fishman]

Getting hit on the head with a large limb is no fun. I know because it happened to me about 7 years ago.

I was cutting wood with a friend who was relatively inexperienced. He felled a large tree the wrong way and it went down in a tangle of smaller saplings. I was concentrating on not getting hit by those saplings as I cut them off and did not look up. Apparantly, the large tree had also caught a limb from an adjacent elm tree. As I cut through one of the saplings and it unsprung (watch out!) I heard a "crack" and everything went black. I found out later that a 6" diameter branch had broken free from the elm tree and fell to the ground.

I came to on the ground and became aware of my legs and arm flopping around. Whoops, no motor control! Anyway, my friend was yelling at me but I couldn't hear him. I managed to get up and spit some fragments of teeth out. Interestingly enough, nothing hurt, and I found that I was pretty much intact.

Well, my friend couldn't drive a 3-speed, so I drove out of the woods and to my house. The biggest problem was that there was blood in my eyes and I couldn't see. Anyway, I got home and the wife loaded me up and drove to the hospital. My vision kept blanking out in my right eye . . . very scary.

Long story short, the damage was a scar on the top of my head, a very sore neck for a week, 5 broken or chipped teeth of which one required repair and a partially-severed tongue (the worst!) I was extremely lucky. Had I been standing up instead of bent over, it would have been a very different story.

As a result, I won't do any work without a hardhat, not even mowing or trimming. It may look silly, but after being given a second chance, I am not inclined to screw it up.

 

[Taz]

Thanks for sharing. They should include a copy of your story with every chainsaw.

 

[MarkV]

Fishman, you just gave me another reason to wear the safety equipment each time. I find it interesting how often friends of mine will resist chain saw safety equipment. Maybe it’s a guy thing that I don’t get. I always like to share stories like yours, then they can do as they please. Me, I’ll put the stuff on even though it is hot at times.

MarkV