Tree cutting accident

[WinterDeere]

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I was a volunteer firefighter/emt. We had one guy where the saw kicked back and it got him in the face. Not very nice. One of our other lieutenants had the saw cut him in the thigh. He was lucky, no serious damage.

Years ago, Stihl put out some literature showing the number or frequency of chainsaw accidents, discriminated by area of the body. Their point was to convince people to buy chaps, and not just helmets, as the vast majority of chainsaw accidents are leg contact injuries.

I don't remember the exact numbers anymore, it was too many years ago, but injuries related to chaps and legs occur something like 3x more frequently than injuries related to heads and helmets or face shields. That statement probably comes with the caveat that you're wearing safety glasses, either way, as I imagine unprotected eye injuries must top the list.

 

[Ken45101]

It's not just upright trees that are dangerous.

Last summer we had a big tree fall across our driveway. I was recovering from neck surgery so I just pushed it off alongside the driveway at the time.

By the end of November I was getting along better and decided it was time to cut it up. I lifted it up and held it with the mini-excavator bucket and thumb. Well apparently when I cut through i t, it moved and came loose from the bucket. I came to laying on the driveway with my femur broken and laying at a 90 degree angle under my leg. Fortunately, I had cell service (spotty) and was able to call 911.

I was air lifted to the level 1 trauma center in Cincinnati. Ten days in hospital and 20 days in a rehab hospital. I'm still improving, I'm able to get around slowly with a cane now.

 

[ArlyA]

It's not just upright trees that are dangerous.

Last summer we had a big tree fall across our driveway. I was recovering from neck surgery so I just pushed it off alongside the driveway at the time.

By the end of November I was getting along better and decided it was time to cut it up. I lifted it up and held it with the mini-excavator bucket and thumb. Well apparently when I cut through i t, it moved and came loose from the bucket. I came to laying on the driveway with my femur broken and laying at a 90 degree angle under my leg. Fortunately, I had cell service (spotty) and was able to call 911.

I was air lifted to the level 1 trauma center in Cincinnati. Ten days in hospital and 20 days in a rehab hospital. I'm still improving, I'm able to get around slowly with a cane now.

Thanks for posting this ken, Hope you are 100% soon.

 

[WinterDeere]

Last summer... I was recovering from neck surgery... I came to laying on the driveway with my femur broken and laying at a 90 degree angle under my leg.

Wow... hope your recovery hasn't been too terrible, and you're back to 100% soon.

Your close-succession of events reminded me of probably the third our fourth consecutive year I ended up in the ER with a broken bone, back in late-elementary / middle-school years, and one of the nurses told me they were just going to keep my file out on the counter from now on. I was into BMX cycling and snow skiing, always trying to keep up with kids who were older or better than me, which was the source of most injuries.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

I do a lot of tree harvesting, as we're heating a very large and very old inefficient house with firewood, as well as supplying wood to a few others on occasion. I'm often in a situation of having to cut out in the woods myself, so my wife and I have established a check-in policy. She calls me a few times during the day, at least once every 2 hours, if she hasn't heard from me sooner. Additionally, I call her before I fell each tree or grouping of trees, and tell her, "if you don't hear back from me in 10 minutes, send the ambulance." It's a workable system, for anyone who must cut alone.

Processed 25 cord of wood this year from trees on our property. We use a 2-way radio, We talk to each other before I fall each tree and after the fallen tree hits the ground.

I forgot to call in once after a large tree crashed into the rocks and to the ground. When my wife came out she stood at a distance while I was limbing and finally got my attention. She has courtiously not let me hear the end of it, when I tell her I am going to fall another tree.

 

[Samwhoiam]

Our son was successful at flying his drone up to a, long time dead, hemlock tree with a fishing line attached. This tree would fall on his building if not taken down before putting the building up. He first used a 6 lb weigh fishing line and then attached it to a light weight poly cord. Problem was that the connection got hung in the bark of the tree when being pulled around it and it finally broke the fishing line. So he went with a 50 lb weight fishing line attached to same light weight poly cord, successfully flew the drone around the dead tree again and back to him. Hemlocks have many limbs all the way up and the limbs really get in the way of flying the drone around the tree. This time he was able to pull the poly cord around the tree. He attached a ski rope to the poly cord with with wire and wrapped with tape to make sure the transition was smooth so it would not get hung up on the bark. He was able to pull it around the tree again. Next he attached the super duper extra heavy weight rope (10,000 lb rope) to the ski rope and attached it the same way. We were both very elated when he got that rope around the tree. Now this tree is around 70-75 feet tall so he needed the rope up as high as he could to get leverage on pulling it down. He hooked up his heavy duty winch on his truck and backed down the road, where the tree could not reach him when it fell. He did not feel that his medium sized Kubota could do it is the reason he used his Dodge Ram 3500. He pulled but the rope came off the winch since he over extended it so he tied the rope to the bumper and was able to pull the tree down. It came up from its roots. 15 ‘ broke and came over the edge of the bank. Another 15’ cracked but did not come down the bank and had the rope trapped under it. He had to pull that part of the tree down with a rope after cutting all the way though the place that was cracked. He accidentally cut his super duper heavy rope where it was trapped under that area where the tree lay. That was an expensive “OOPS”. Also a few choice words were said. It was a 225' expensive rope when he bought it but no more. Now he has two shorter super duper heavy weight ropes. But the tree is down with the larger, bottom part left up where it landed and is in no danger to his future building.

He had to practice flying the drone first. We were very happy it all worked out so well

. Cutting a still standing dead hemlock is very dangerous. We have many that look so bad that we wonder how they can still be standing. They are in dense woods so don't pose a threat when they do fall. Some people blow them up to fell them but that seems risky to the person doing it. They used that method to fell the 100'+ tall dead hemlocks in Joyce Kilmer Forest in NC so that it looked "more natural" when they fell. They did this when they were newly dead so they were not as big a threat on falling down while someone attached the explosives.

SamiamfromNC

 

[KenEtch]

it is not just age that adds to the curve. Complacency also sets in. I know of a lot of experienced individuals who get lazy with safety because of their experience. Age just makes it worse.

I think part of the age problem is that our brains are calibrated to our younger selves ability. We make judgements that our bodies can no longer execute. I find myself deliberately slowing down and being more methodical to compensate.

So very well.put. I'm also a "senior" wood cutter, 77 next month. Complacency, fatigue, hurrying, inexperience & feeling invincible are greater contributors to major injury than age on my opinion. Granted as we age our strength & reflexes are diminished. But wiser, experienced old guys study, evaluate, plan & execute within our current capabilities with caution. I never stopped learning tree felling techniques & tips & now walk away from questionable trees that I wouldn't have 40 years ago. Am I lucky to have escaped injury from young man mistakes - - absolutely! Will I experience a felling or chainsaw injury going forward? Perhaps, but as an older guy, I guarantee it won't be caused my improper dress & preparation. Regardless of age, think, evaluate, plan, measure, then RETHINK before pulling the chainsaw rope.

 

[MossRoad]

Here one for you guys. I'm not cutting it... View attachment 826103

I'd take the meter off of it first.

 

[Hay Dude]

Here one for you guys. I'm not cutting it... View attachment 826103

I could cut that tree down easily.
Some of you guys need testosterone

 

[ArlyA]

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 36,000 people are injured by chainsaws annually in the USA.Sep 23, 2020

------and were do these injuryes accure? ----------------------------

Approximately 40 percent of all chainsaw accidents occur to the legs and well over 35 percent occur to the left hand and wrist.Oct 16, 2014

 

[WinterDeere]

Approximately 40 percent of all chainsaw accidents occur to the legs and well over 35 percent occur to the left hand and wrist.Oct 16, 2014

Thank you. Those are the numbers I was trying to recall earlier.

 

[tradosaurus]

Dead trees scare me. If anyone knows a great (safe) way to get them down I would like to know about it. I won’t stand under one and cut it. I have envisioned a saw with a long handle supported on a turn pole. Allowing one to stand far off and get the widow maker down.

I've got a big dead hardwood tree I'm just waiting to come down. Fortunately it's not near my house.

I thought tannerite might be the answer. Attach it to the trunk and sit back (behind something solid) a couple hundred yds and shoot it.

 

[tradosaurus]

After being trained by my employer on chainsaws for use at work, and having gone through the fireline saw training, I can’t help but wear chaps and some sort of eye, ear, and head protection. I now find it somewhat embarrassing to use a saw without putting that stuff on first. Habit yes, but we also point and comment about the homeowners in jeans waving a running saw around like it’s a toy. My dad cut without that stuff for many years, even after I told him not to, until he finally cut his leg and needed stitches.

Good points. Also I find a sharp, tight, and clean chain makes a safer saw. I use two saws and after using clean, sharpen and tighten the chain for the next use.

 

[KenEtch]

IF I ever take up motorcycle riding again, I'll definitely take a class. I have friends that still ride and from what I've been told, the classes are well worth it.

I recall one year when I put the bike away for the winter, got it out in the spring, took off on a curvy road I liked to push it on, and found that my skills had diminished greatly in just the 4-5 months, and ended up hopping a curb into the grass before I could stop. Fortunately, there was a driveway cut in the curb that I managed to go through, or I'd have lost it.

A good lesson in keeping your skills up. Use it or lose it. Etc.

Amen to motorcycle skill enhancement. I started riding motorcycles at 43 with virtually no training, but also flew airplanes, and was cautious & level-headed. Rode until age 58, never dropped a bike, no accidents. Quit riding due to work obligations & travel. 17 years later at age 75 I decided to start riding again, now a Texas resident, where the MSF course is mandatory before receiving the motorcycle endorsement. My mindset to riding was still at age 58, but I insta try realized I needed the I tense two day course. Balance, strength & coordination were greatly compromised. It took several months riding to regain balance & control that I once had, and I practice & work at my skills each ride. NEVER stop learning or become complacent, be cautious, realize your skill level & practice each ride.

 

[MossRoad]

Don't be this guy...

 

[Signals]

It's much harder to be safe when you're left-handed. I've never seen a left-handed chainsaw yet. Cutting cross handed like I do makes the saw much more dangerous. My left hand is on the throttle and my right holds the bar by the brake. Lefties are 5X more likely to die in industrial accidents, usually because the tools they use aren't designed with their safety in mind!

 

[Bob64]

Ive got TWO broken limbs hanging 50 feet up 100 foot tall maples. The aftermath of this past late winter storm. The broken branches are about the size of my calf. Hundreds of pounds just held by a split or two. Every time the wind blows I look up with hope that one or the other might have come down. Not yet though. I am getting to feel it's going to take another heavy wet/icey snow storm to bring them down.
In the meanwhile, I look up and hurry past whenever I need to be out in that part of the yard.

I've quit mowing there. It's so shady, grass doesn't really grow, weeds and moss mostly, not worth the risk.

Sending good vibes to the injured fellow!

Widowmakers.... Labels don't get applied for no good reason.

We had a very nice and very old (150+ years based on rings we could count later) sugar maple not 30 ft from our back door. It was the center of attraction for both our children and all of their friends due to a swing from one of its branches high up.
One nice summer morning long after our children grown up and left home we woke to find one of the other branches (approximately 10" in diameter) that looked very healthy had broken in the middle of the night and was laying on the lawn not far from the swing. Turns out the branch was rotten in the middle where the heartwood should have been.
Fortunately for us it happened in the middle of the night and no one was hurt or killed by it. Not long after that I had about 2.5 cord of firewood all cut, split, and stacked. We still miss the tree to this day.
Moral of my story is "you can't always tell how good/safe something is by its looks". Guess that could apply to a lot situations in life.

 

[CalG]

We had a very nice and very old (150+ years based on rings we could count later) sugar maple not 30 ft from our back door. It was the center of attraction for both our children and all of their friends due to a swing from one of its branches high up.
One nice summer morning long after our children grown up and left home we woke to find one of the other branches (approximately 10" in diameter) that looked very healthy had broken in the middle of the night and was laying on the lawn not far from the swing. Turns out the branch was rotten in the middle where the heartwood should have been.
Fortunately for us it happened in the middle of the night and no one was hurt or killed by it. Not long after that I had about 2.5 cord of firewood all cut, split, and stacked. We still miss the tree to this day.
Moral of my story is "you can't always tell how good/safe something is by its looks". Guess that could apply to a lot situations in life.

I've got no fewer than 3 standing sugar maples (100 years old) 80 feet tall , 18in abh) that have seriously compromised trunks due to defects. They need to come down before they break off in a breeze. They are far enough from any structure, but will foul other trees in the area. There are no clear fall paths. I'm a bit afraid of them.

The pick below is how I dealt with a recently dead hemlock. At 71 years old, I really shouldn't be climbing.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I've got no fewer than 3 standing sugar maples (100 years old) 80 feet tall , 18in abh) that have seriously compromised trunks due to defects. They need to come down before they break off in a breeze. They are far enough from any structure, but will foul other trees in the area. There are no clear fall paths. I'm a bit afraid of them.

The pick below is how I dealt with a recently dead hemlock. At 71 years old, I really shouldn't be climbing.

Yes you absolutely should be climbing if your still capable and able, it helps keep you young, you just have to take it easy for a couple of days following a day of climbing and cutting to re-cuperate.

 

[CalG]

Yes you absolutely should be climbing if your still capable and able, it helps keep you young, you just have to take it easy for a couple of days following a day of climbing and cutting to re-cuperate.

It took me no less than five climbs over a weeks time to clear the low branches and get to the position to make the topping cut. Sweaty work... ;-)

Like they say about riding motorbikes...

"You don't quit riding because you got old, You get old because you quit riding"

I'm looking forward to another winter snow skiing as well. Rescue services as a ski patrol member at a nearby hill.