# Treeslayer ,did you know this kid ?



## Normsworld (Nov 22, 2009)

I waved at the Old Dominion crew at 730 am on my way back from fishing , then saw the truck tonight on the news . This is real bad Dave. Was the O.D. owners nephew , think he was living with him.
http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_..._Teen_killed_in_woodchipper_accident_20091122


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## treeslayer (Nov 23, 2009)

No, don't know anybody with that outfit. he was way too young to be near a chipper, I hope they prosecute whover let him near it. 

I was there in VA and did a little work, and once again, somebody died. happens every storm I travel to, I can think of a dozen or so fatalities over the last 4 or 5 years while on the road.


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## outofmytree (Nov 23, 2009)

Argh. 15 years old. What an awful waste. 

Chippers need 2 operators. It isnt rocket science. If your machine is set up correctly then 2 ops watching each others backs can avoid this sort of tragedy.

I cannot imagine what his family or work mates are going through right now but they have my deepest sympathy.


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## Taxmantoo (Nov 23, 2009)

outofmytree said:


> Argh. 15 years old. What an awful waste.



Wow. I worked my way through college at Domino's Pizza. State law said the 17 year olds could make pizzas but not put them in the oven (couldn't let minors within 3' of the oven). Working a chipper would seem to be a lot more hazardous than oven tending.

I assume this was a member of the owner's household? Family owned businesses usually have an exception for kids that live with them.


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## ClimbinArbor (Nov 23, 2009)

Poor kid, thats a bad way to go...

This is one of the reasons i believe OSHA should be monitering our industry a little more hardnosedly. See this kind of stuff all over the place...


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## Normsworld (Nov 23, 2009)

3 people were on the chipper . These things happen in a instant . Poquoson is a small REAL close knit town . One stop light until recently . Most people know the family well .This kid was like a son to the owner . If your dad had the business and you were a mature , hard working kid , you would be there too. 
On the farm my son was baling hay at 12 . He drove a car better then than my neighbors do here and they're 40 + . He started young , and worked his way up .Not one person Ive talked to blames the owner . Please don't judge so hastily . I never should of posted the link .


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## geardoc (Nov 23, 2009)

This is a shame...
http://www.dailypress.com/news/york-county/dp-now-poquoson-woodchipper.n23,0,3503773.story


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## outofmytree (Nov 23, 2009)

You did right Norm. This forum exists so noone lives in the dark and believes our gear is safe. As to the numbers on the chipper. It is not how many people are working the chipper it is how many are OPERATING it that counts. That means when you are pushing in chunks with a shovel or push stick or whatever your buddy is on the control bar. My wife has the safest pair of hands on a chipper I have ever seen. Made me look like a fool when I dropped a glove on a branch and reached in for it. She slapped me with one hand whilst reversing with the other and still picked up the glove. That is two operators. Not two people dragging brush from around the back of a house who are out of view of each other.


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## lego1970 (Nov 23, 2009)

What a shame. I imagine everybody there feels horrible. Those self feed chippers claim a lot of lives, even experienced people every now and then.


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## Outlaw5.0 (Nov 23, 2009)

Was it a whisper chipper or the newer feed roller chippers?. I have used the feed roller chippers, they don't pull the wood in no where near what a whisper chipper does.


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## Canyon Angler (Nov 24, 2009)

Such a sad story. Apparently the young man was orphaned already. 

My sincere sympathy to the family and friends. 

Be careful out there, everyone!


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## newsawtooth (Nov 24, 2009)

My sincere condolences to all involved. Outofmytree, thanks for the reminder of your chipping procedures. I have to be more disciplined with operating chippers, especially in regards to requiring a person operating the feed control bar. No word yet on what type of chipper was involved? Also, was the scoop handle straight or did it have a D handle?


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## DK_stihl (Nov 25, 2009)

*chipper*



Outlaw5.0 said:


> Was it a whisper chipper or the newer feed roller chippers?. I have used the feed roller chippers, they don't pull the wood in no where near what a whisper chipper does.



From the looks of the video, it was a bandit hydraulic feed-drum style chipper. (this style has feed rollers that are reversible) It looked like a 1590XP maybe? You can the the bar to reverse the feed in the video. Maybe he had no training on how it worked? Sad.


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## Normsworld (Nov 25, 2009)

http://www.dailypress.com/news/breaking/dp-local_pokodeathfolo_1125nov25,0,2095171.story


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## rarefish383 (Nov 26, 2009)

I've been out of town for a week and hadn't heard of the accident. I live in the Wash Metro area. 

In reply to 2 statements above. In MD you have to be 18 to work in the tree care industry, unless you are the child of the owner. My cousin and I are fourth generation Arborists. When my Dad retired I let the business go. My cousin still runs the business with the family name. My wife wanted my son to work with them for the summer when he turned 16 and we were told sorry not till he's 18. He couldn't even drag brush or rake up. Unless my cousin was being over protective. I started running an Asplundh 16in drum when I was 14and was driving the chipper truck as soon as I got my drivers permit.


My opinion on the old drums (ours was pre Whisper) versus disk chippers is, the drums were so loud and took the brush so violently, people were intimadated by them. We called them chuck and duck because they would rip gloves , hats and shirts right off your body. But, if you had the nerve, you could hold onto a branch and snatch it back out. The new chippers are so quiet and take the brush so gently, you're not naturaly afraid of them. Once something is in the rolers of a disk you are not going to snatch it back out, only hitting the reverse bar can stop the feed. I think the discs are better machines than the old drums, but for the reasons stated I think they are morer dangerous.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of this young man, Joe.


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## outofmytree (Nov 28, 2009)

Bandit 1890 xp "Intimidator" is shown in the video clip. 

Shovelling in debris? I cannot fathom how you could fall in unless you were alone at the apron and were struck by a branch which knocked you onto the pile going through. It is over 5 feet from the edge of the apron to the feed rollers.

The 1590 and 1890 chippers have reverse "control bars", last chance pull strings above the apron and if you have a winch a hydraulic flow control which shuts off the feed wheels when winch mode is selected. All within easy reach of a "buddy" operator. Over here OHS requires another pair of emergency stop switches to be fitted after import so there could well have been 4 methods of stopping or reversing the rollers.

Just a word on age. My son has been working with us on school holidays since he was 15. I cannot describe the fear I felt when he threw his first branch into the chipper. It was watching him do this that made me review every aspect of chipper operation. If you have children I don't need to explain why. These machines are deadly. Please think about what you do at work tomorrow.


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## DK_stihl (Nov 28, 2009)

*chipper*



outofmytree said:


> Bandit 1890 xp "Intimidator" is shown in the video clip.
> 
> Shovelling in debris? I cannot fathom how you could fall in unless you were alone at the apron and were struck by a branch which knocked you onto the pile going through. It is over 5 feet from the edge of the apron to the feed rollers.
> 
> ...



I knew I was looking at a bandit Hydraulic feed drum in the vid.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Nov 28, 2009)

rarefish383 said:


> My opinion on the old drums (ours was pre Whisper) versus disk chippers is, the drums were so loud and took the brush so violently, people were intimadated by them.



Interesting comment, Joe. Sometimes a false perception of safety is more dangerous than actual danger. When we KNOW there's a danger, we are safer than when we THINK there is not.


Sad, sad, sad, doesn't even begin to describe this. Whoever allowed him to work that chipper is going to have a very hard time living with this.

No, I'm not blaming him, but he will certainly blame himself!


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## treesquirrel (Nov 28, 2009)

This is a sickening incident for sure. My prayers go out for the family and friends.

My first question is why was a 14 year old running a big chipper? Never in my wildest dreams would I think about this.


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## lone wolf (Dec 2, 2009)

i have that chipper and I'm thinking maybe they didn't drill it into him enough about proper procedure and how to stop it .i always tell all working to stand on the side not in front so you don't get pulled in.got to watch young ones close.


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## Behemoth Jim (Dec 8, 2009)

Normsworld said:


> 3 people were on the chipper . These things happen in a instant . Poquoson is a small REAL close knit town . One stop light until recently . Most people know the family well .This kid was like a son to the owner . If your dad had the business and you were a mature , hard working kid , you would be there too.
> On the farm my son was baling hay at 12 . He drove a car better then than my neighbors do here and they're 40 + . He started young , and worked his way up .Not one person Ive talked to blames the owner . Please don't judge so hastily . I never should of posted the link .



Norm, you are so right that people should not judge too hastily. I began driving a farm tractor at age 8, operating PTO equipment around age 11 or 12, and chainsaw at 17. I do not believe it is wrong to allow kids to do dangerous work, however, if you're going to do so, you take full responsibility-- especially legally. Now if I was responsible for the death of an 18 year old, I don't think I'd feel much better than if I were responsible for the death of a 17 year old-- but 18 is the magic line the govt has established.

Bottom line, be careful. I often use a small tree limb to feed our little Vermeer the tailings. I do so with one hand on the panic bar and the other hand pushing the stick around to get the leaves in. As long as I keep my hand at least two feet or so from the roller, I've got plenty of time to react. Often of course, the roller grabs the stick, so I just pull the reverse bar, and / or let go of the stick. But I do keep my one hand on the bar at all times while doing that. Is this unsafe? Maybe. I'm thinking our chipper must be a slower feeder than some. It only has a 6-inch throat. I used to use a 10- or 12-inch Vermeer when I worked for Asplundh 10 years ago. That thing scared me spitless. NEVER lose your fear. Never lose it for other people working with you or around you, either. 

And also-- never lose your fear for that annoying 10-year-old kid that comes out of the house to watch you work and shows off while you're trying to get stuff done. (sidenote: I was the annoying 10-year-old kid that did that kind of thing once. . . .) A few weeks ago there was one such at our jobsite and I sent him back into the house no fewer than four times. My boss was climbing a dead tree in their backyard, we felled two spars, were chipping, gathering logs with our tractor loader, etc, etc. The stinkin kid kept coming outside and goofing off. I had to tell him he could be killed like a grasshopper if he didn't get his butt in the house. His mother also told him repeatedly to stay inside. You gotta watch that stuff!

I'll be reviewing my chipper practices next time I run it. Be safe!


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