# Local guy died



## mattfr12 (Apr 20, 2010)

another tree service not to far from me about 15 min. thier climber got killed today the story is attached.

http://kdka.com/local/bethel.park.death.2.1644511.html


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## tree md (Apr 20, 2010)

Sorry to hear that. Prayers to the family.

Electricity is nothing to mess with. No room for error.


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## treemandan (Apr 20, 2010)

Rip


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## mattfr12 (Apr 20, 2010)

tree md said:


> Sorry to hear that. Prayers to the family.
> 
> Electricity is nothing to mess with. No room for error.




no joke i can honestly say thats the only thing in this buisness that actually scares the crap out of me. im working around high tension all the time and when you feel the hairs stand up on the back of your kneck when your splitting phases of wires its a scary feeling. those are the only days at work where i just cant wait to be done and when im done i say thank god for letting it all go smooth.

im a man that admits my mistakes when i was around 16 i started cutting trees on my own with very limited skills and i droped a lead that hit the high tensions and acutally laid on the line. it tripped some breaker killing the power to the line but this makes me think how close i actually was to death.

thank god im not a hack anymore this buisness is no joke anyone thinking you can make some spare cash just by buying a chainsaw and a ladder is nuts. you are gonna get hurt its as easy as that.

this company did alot of work around here and where experienced and i knew the owner personally. we talked about contracting my bucket truck out to them a few days a week not to long ago.

but after something like this i dunno if i would even wanna do it anymore. would really mess with your head

RIP BROTHER.

PLEASE STAY SAFE GUYS!!! no more of us need to be injured. or worse!


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## mattfr12 (Apr 20, 2010)

i just got done watching his family on the news and they couldnt understand why he was up in the tree. they said he was a groundman and had no buisness up in the tree. the owner of the company left the scene and hasnt made a statement yet.


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## loadthestove (Apr 20, 2010)

Hate to hear about something like this,Probably a decent guy trying to make a living for his family..


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## MostShady1 (Apr 20, 2010)

mattfr12 said:


> no joke i can honestly say thats the only thing in this buisness that actually scares the crap out of me. im working around high tension all the time and when you feel the hairs stand up on the back of your kneck when your splitting phases of wires its a scary feeling. those are the only days at work where i just cant wait to be done and when im done i say thank god for letting it all go smooth.
> 
> im a man that admits my mistakes when i was around 16 i started cutting trees on my own with very limited skills and i droped a lead that hit the high tensions and acutally laid on the line. it tripped some breaker killing the power to the line but this makes me think how close i actually was to death.
> 
> ...




+1 God rest his soul, and bless his family.


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## tree md (Apr 20, 2010)

Could have possibly found the groundman as the ground.

I had two friends killed by electricity. One was a mentor. Crane cable swung into the lines electrifying the boom truck. Killed my old boss instantly. His friend and work partner of 40 years went to shut down the crane and it killed him as soon as he touched it. The crane was electrified. It will surely make you think and look at things differently. Sorry that this happened to some of the guys that you were close to.

I got into a phase three line when I was young too. I could feel the electricity coursing through me but I didn't ground thank God. An experience I will never forget or repeat. God willing.


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## skid row (Apr 21, 2010)

The poor victim's brother witnessed this horrible event. Very tragic. My prayers to the family.


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## jyoung_usa (Apr 22, 2010)

Looks like we had a similar thing happen here (VA):

HENRICO, VA (WWBT) - Henrico police say one man is dead following what appears to be an accident while cutting trees.

It happened just before 9:00 Thursday morning in the 1500 block of Timbercrest Court.

According to police the victim is a male in his mid 20's.

The man was in a tree cutting a limb when police say it touched a power line electrocuting the man.

Police also say the victim was experience cutting trees but this was his first day on the job with a new company.

Rescue attempts were made to revive the man but he was pronounced dead at the scene.


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## mattfr12 (Apr 23, 2010)

jyoung_usa said:


> Looks like we had a similar thing happen here (VA):
> 
> HENRICO, VA (WWBT) - Henrico police say one man is dead following what appears to be an accident while cutting trees.
> 
> ...



holy crap to many people getting killed.

guys working around powers lines some advice that may help you is.

they may not do this in your area but in my area power companies will come out and sleeve the lines with a piece of insulation. this could save your life in a mishap. it takes them forever to put it on but its something to look into.

it is also free in pa. ive done it several times with large trees growing through the high tension. all tho i didnt hit the high tension. it very well could have happend. anything can happen no matter how experienced you are. we all have close calls.


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## mattfr12 (Apr 23, 2010)

after he died before i went up today i moved a little slower and alot more careful than i usually do. ill try to use this as a reminder for the rest of my tree climbing career to keep me alive. i hope the rest of you do the same.


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## Dadatwins (Apr 24, 2010)

mattfr12 said:


> they may not do this in your area but in my area power companies will come out and sleeve the lines with a piece of insulation. this could save your life in a mishap.



Here in Virginia the power company will send a qualified line clearance crew out to cut the tree back and achieve the required minimum 10' clearance for any wire near a tree. This includes those on public and private property. Prayers to the families of all these victims. Prayers to those that had to witness and rescue these victims also.


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## TreEmergencyB (Apr 25, 2010)

One thing to remember is this guy was not trained to be performing the work he was. He was a ground man learning to climb. Being around power is no where to learn. All you guys who are new to the biz no matter what your boss says DONT do somthing if you dont feel comfortable doing it.

To close to home on this one.


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