# Another fatality in KC area; 2nd in one week



## pdqdl (Jun 21, 2014)

We seem to have lost another trimmer in the KC area. This one fell, although I have not been able to find any known reason. I’m guessing that he was most likely free climbing on spurs, since none of the reports mention cutting his safety equipment.

It looks like an easy removal, just the kind of tree a confident climber might get complacent in.

http://www.kmbc.com/news/tree-trimmer-dies-in-fall-in-gardner-kan/26594234?tru=1MXXn#mid=16742573
http://www.kctv5.com/story/25832103/2014/06/20/tree-trimmer-dies-in-gardner

For pete's sake guys! Tie in at ALL times, tie in twice if anything sharp is going to be used. It doesn't hurt to inspect your equipment and knots, either.

It seems to me that this forum is mostly filled with two kinds of injuries: newcomers that don't know the safety rules, and old timers that don't follow them.


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## rarefish383 (Jul 19, 2014)

In every industry that's the way it is. New guys and old guys, stats show it. You can never let up. That's the hardest thing to teach people, paying attention isn't something you stop and do every 10 minutes. At work, every time a vehicle starts to move forward or back, they have to sound the horn. You have to sound the horn every 3 seconds as backing. That's on top of the loud annoying Beep that comes on as you back. But, there are so many horns constantly sounding, nobody pays attention. Our facility has about 170 bays with 20 inside the building. When taking a 48 foot trailer in the building you have to make a hard right turn and hug the wall on the drivers side, and the rear tires of the trailer will rub the big steel rub bar on the floor. When it's bright sunshine out side you can't see anything until you actually get inside the building. That bay door is central to that operation and it's common for the managers to be standing there talking manager stuff. You sound the horn, and basically pull in about 15-20 feet blind, and there they are. You sound the horn again, again, they finish talking, look up, smile and wave and move on. You're sitting there thinking, here I am with 50,000 pounds, 48 feet long, plus shifting vehicle, in a known low visibility area, blowing my horn, and their conversation is too important to turn around and look? People get complacent quick. We have plastic cards with all of our different safety guidelines, a sup could be reading the card and wouldn't look up at you blowing your horn, unless you kept doing it to the point it was interrupting his discussion. Safety is very hard to teach, it's something you breath, Joe.


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## pdqdl (Jul 19, 2014)

I do not quite picture the situation that you described, but it sounds to me like I would just sit on the horn a good bit longer. When they looked up with the big frown, I would wave at them with a big smile.


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## jefflovstrom (Jul 19, 2014)

pdqdl said:


> We seem to have lost another trimmer in the KC area. This one fell, although I have not been able to find any known reason. I’m guessing that he was most likely free climbing on spurs, since none of the reports mention cutting his safety equipment.
> 
> It looks like an easy removal, just the kind of tree a confident climber might get complacent in.
> 
> ...



yup


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