# Brush and vines



## an?qus (Nov 19, 2011)

I don't fell timber personally, but I live with someone who does, and I do buck and split it, so I felt compelled to share the experience that a friend of ours had recently since he was nearly killed. Being trained in body mechanics where rule #1 is "size up the job," and rule #2 is "clear the area," this may sound pretty fundamental to any pros and experienced arborists here, so apologies in advance if it's too much so. I hope not to insult anyone's intelligence. btw: in sizing up a job, it was taught to me that "if you can't handle the job given your existing resources, get more, get help or let it go for the time being.

The following is the best understanding I was able to gain from their description of the incident: I guess they were out late and in a hurry to get that one last tree down before dark, and it was starting to get dark. They put the tree where they wanted it, but they had failed to clear the area of brush and vines. Once down, they started limbing it, unaware (because of the vines covering it) that the trunk was held slightly aloft by a limb driven at a slight angle (away from the one guy) by the weight of the tree into the ground. 

When the guy cut into the trunk, he just unluckily happened to cut through that one limb. When it let go, the trunk sprang up and straight at the guy. He had no idea that limb was even there. He was able to jump out of the way, but it missed him by no more than a hair of his head according to the guy that was with him, and he with the saw running.

In most areas of my life I've found that a little "back to basics" time can be time well spent. The lead guy was no rookie, and he's the guy it happened to. The mistakes look pretty obvious in hindsight, but, I hope, worth a mention as we are all human.

In summary:
1. Ya need the light to do this stuff (size up the job!).
2. Clear the area!
3. Ya can't rush through work like this (size up the job!).

All I can say is "Thank God" the guy lived to tell the story.


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## Volandtitanfan (Nov 25, 2011)

Thanks. I like the old Industrial safety slogan. Take Two. Taking Two min. to think about the safety of the job could save your life. Good post anéqus


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