# Tree Climber Killed



## Tim Gardner

A fellow tree climber, former coworker and my friend, was killed today when he was struck by a tree. I do not have all the details but will post them as they become available.

Brian is survived by his wife and three children. I ask that every one pray for them. Without a father and his income, times will be hard.


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## Reed

Two climbers in two months. Too much lost.

Tim, I'm sorry for your loss. What was Brian's last name?


Oakwilt


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## Tim Gardner

This is the second climber killed here where I live in less than a year. Many others have had injuries.  

I though I would hold off on Brian's last name for a day or so.......


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## Tim Gardner

They way I understand it, the tree was too dead to climb. They used a Bobcat to push while Brian cut. The tree caught up in a pine and rolled. Hit him right behind the neck and crushed him. 

I found out that I will be one of the guys finishing the job tomorrow. Not something I am looking forward to. I was in the top of a tree doing a removal this morning and Brian came by on the way to that job. He yelled out something funny and I just laughed. If I would have known he would be dead in a few hours I would have came down and climbed that [email protected] tree.


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## treeclimber165

I don't know what to say, Tim. Just that it hurts to hear about things like this. Wish I had words to say what I want to.


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## Stumper

"Sorry" is so inadequate but I want to say I hurt for you.


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## rahtreelimbs

This is a dangerous business we work in. Makes you second guess as to why you are in it to begin with. Tim, Lord be with you. I'm sorry for your loss.


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## herschel

My thoughts are with you and his family. Very sad, indeed.


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## nik1978

Hang in there man. All persons who work this industry are in my prayers daily. Each day I grow a deeper respect for this professsion. Its just crazy how these freak accidents happen and how they could happen to any one on any given day. 

respectfully,

NIK1978


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## Tim Gardner

The Climber's name is Brian Kitchen. He was 43 years old. 

If anyone would like to make donations, send cards or letters, send them to:

Cindy Kitchen
C/O John McCarthy
Acadia Tree & Stump
710 Pepperhill Circle
Myrtle Beach, SC 29579

Cindy was involved in an automobile accident about a year ago and due to injuries she received is not able to make up for the loss of Brian's income. Cindy has three children to provide for.

Thanks for all the replies. This loss has affected many people in my community.


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## Froggy

*Reply*

Tim,
I'm sorry for your loss. Me and my family will pray for you and Brian's family. Hang in there buddy.


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## Toddppm

Always tough to lose a friend , especially a tree friend! Take care everybody.


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## murphy4trees

Sad news for sure.... I hope we all can take a lesson to make every cut like our life depends on it...
That pic has my mind doing summersaults..
Seems like a fairly straightfoward job...
What made them think tree was too dead to climb?? Any test drilling done?
Why not use a rope instead of machine? Although machine is easier.. rope gives more control
What kind of notch and felling cut did they use? Pehaps an open face with a back release would have turned out diffferently
It's unlikely but perhaps using a power pruner to remove the lower branches would have helped.
Looks like they were trying to push the tree to the left (in the pic)
judging from the stump and tire tracks.. and from Tim's info.. sounds like the tree got hung up and then hinge failed due to weak wood and or over cutting... then tree fell approx. 90* to facing direction... right back on Brian..
It might have been safer for him to cut from the oppposite side, though more akward saw handling.. And it's all speculation anyhow... I Am trying to learn something here... anything
Breaks my heart looking at that picture and thinking of those kids growing up without a Dad and him never getting a chance to see them grow up.. 
Please be careful
God Bless All,
Daniel


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## Tim Gardner

It was a simple job. Any of us here would have walked right thru it with no problem. I still don't know why this happened. We are still in shock here. I was expecting a much larger tree when I pulled up to the site.

I found out yesterday that Brian was not the one felling the tree. Makes me wonder how close we come every day to getting hurt on the job.


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## John Paul Sanborn

> Why not use a rope instead of machine?



first thing that came to my mind.

Thanks for keeping us posted Tim.

If you could get pictures of the stump/but for us to look at so we cazn understand this better.

Was the hinge cut out? Made improperly?.....

I would like to learn from this terrible mistake. Hope our boss will let us.


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## treeman82

Tim, really sorry to hear about this horrible tragedy. It is weird that I see this post just now. I was at lunch today with a bunch of other arb / parks kids and we all got to talking about different accidents that we had heard about in the business. Scary ???? when you think about it. 

In a related, yet unrelated side note, I called up an elderly customer the other night in order to say thank you for a referral which I got. The guy is 70 now and just had quadrouple bypass surgery this spring. Well apparently his wife just had a major stroke the other day and is not in very good condition at all.


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## Tim Gardner

This is a pic of the stump.


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## Tim Gardner

I din't think to take a pic of the butt.... This pic is best I can do for now.


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## Tim Gardner

I have no Idea why a rope was not used and no idea why Brian was in the way. I personally feel that a rope gives more control. I don't know for sure if the hinge was cut out but it looks like it was......


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## treeclimber165

Tim,
In no way do I want to belittle this accident. It is a tragedy whenever we lose a fellow climber on the job. But from what little we've heard and from seeing the pictures, it seems like it might have been preventable.
It goes back to something I heard a long time ago and it applies in almost every case. It takes two people not paying attention for an accident to happen. Except for the guy with the saw, there should not have been anyone in close proximity to the tree. If I am flopping a 50' tree, I won't cut unless there isn't anyone within 60' of the tree. And it is the responsibility of every crew member to make sure they are far enough away to not get hit. It is easy to get careless with 'silly safety rules' when we have done this daily for years. But a situation like this reminds all of us just how easy it is to die when we think we are too good to follow basic safety rules. 

My heart aches for you, your crew, and Brian's family.


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## Tim Gardner

Brian,

Now you know why I changed tree services. I worked with Brian at that company for a year. I am not into that rush thing. I will walk off a job before I will let the boss or forman try to rush me or take short cuts Just because he had to bid the job low just to get it. My father was considered the most expensive tree service around here but we won the bids and were able to take the time to do the job the right way and safely. We never had a death on our crews.

The top of that tree should have been thrown out and the stub dropped. The more the shock of Brian's death wears off the more angry I become at him and his boss. If the hinge was not cut through, that tree would have never rolled. If Brian was not in the way he would be alive today.


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## Kneejerk Bombas

There were at least three mistakes, best I can tell. First the bobcat was used to push. If you guys recall my sentiments about this from the thread, "Truck Pull", you know I think this type of use of a machine is wrong.
Next the hinge was cut through. Even the best will do this on occasion. Cutting at the same height as the notch helps you to spot this. Cutting above the notch you won't see the saw cutting past the hinge until it's too late. It looks like that's what happened here. Having a bobcat racing away adds another elemnt to worry about as you cut, and it could have added to the difficulty of making a good hinge.
The third element is the proximity to the street. Was Brian watching the sidewalk or street, just in case it fell the wrong way? Could he be safely situated to watch for pedestrians, traffic, and a falling log?
It was already mentioned, but should be again, complacency is not ever a good thing in high risk work.
My heart aches for the family of this man. He sounds like the kind of guy I would have liked, screaming out the truck window. It makes me want to do my job safer so I don't leave my family this way. We all should. 
I had a rain day today and included checking my life insurance, with the other errands.


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## Tim Gardner

You are right on the money Mike. I am sure we could find other mistakes too.

I think the street was blocked off by Santee Cooper, the power company. Brian was talking with them while the tree was being cut. I first thought Brian was felling the tree but his boss was. He said he did not know why Brian walked over at the time. Maybe he thought the tree was "hung" and would not come down. I don't know. Maybe we never will.


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## Tim Gardner

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/news/local/4364511.htm


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## Tim Gardner

Another link:

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/news/local/4311810.htm


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## spreaderman

*mishaps*

not to tray off the topic here , just one I heard of a man took the cage off his bobcat to clean out his chicken houses better as in lean out to see the sides of the bucket........ he hit the down pedal with his head out .... it hit the back of his neck...... they found him in the chicken house on the bobcat going round an round in a circle lets all look after ourselves and the other man too


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## Tim Gardner

*COMMUNITY NEWS* 

*Public can aid tree trimmer’s family* 

*B KENNETH A GAILLIARD* 

*The Sun News* 

The employer of a Surfside Beach man who died trimming trees last week is raising money for his family, which found itself with no insurance coverage after his death.

Brian D. Kitchen Jr. had been part of the three-man crew of Meadows Tree Removal and Lot Clearing of Myrtle Beach for more than three years. He died Oct. 16 after a cut tree struck him while he was working in the 500 block of First Avenue North in Surfside Beach.

Kitchen’s wife, Cindy Kitchen, said the family had no life insurance, and her husband’s employer, Michael Meadows Jr., didn’t have workers’ compensation insurance. Meadows, along with John McCarthy, owner of Acadia Tree and Stump, are raising money to help the family.

Cindy Kitchen said she was surprised and disappointed to learn her husband’s employer didn’t have workers’ compensation insurance.
But Meadows said Kitchen knew the tree service didn’t have the coverage and that Meadows only carried liability insurance on the business.

Joel Scott, compliance investigator for the SC. Workers’ Compensation, Commission, said businesses with fewer than four employees aren’t required to have workers’ compensation insurance, which he said can be costly for small companies.
The accident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to determine whether safety regulations were violated.

Meadows said he is raising money to help Kitchens family because, “He was not only my friend, he was my right hand. This was like a family.”

McCarthy and Meadows have raised about $800 combined, and they are still seeking donations.
“I’m doing this because they are struggling, and I hope this money will help them out,” he said. “He was a nice guy, very personable, and he liked everybody.”
Cindy Kitchen said she is thankful for any help. She said Meadows and other friends gave her about $800 to help offset the $5,000 cost of her husband’s final arrangements. Services were held Sunday in Maryland.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do next,” she said. “I’ll take it a day at a time.”

She and Kitchen had been a couple about 17 years and were to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary Thursday, she said.
She worried about the potential dangers of her husband’s job, but she said he was a cautious worker.

‘He was a hell of a man” she said. “He did anything for anybody.”

*INFORMATION:* 

*Want to help? * 

*A fund has been established to assist the family of Brian Kitchen. Make checks payable to Kitchen Family Memorial Fund, and mail to Sun Bank, c/o Sherri Presley, P.O. Box 1359, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576.* 



Contact KENNETH A. GAILLIARD at 626-0312 or [email protected].

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/news/local/4364511.htm


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## treeclimber165

*Thank you, Tim*

Boy, that is tough to read. But it certainly digs up one of our tough little secrets and brings it right out into the glaring daylight. 

I also am working without Worker's Comp. and have been since I started climbing again in Feb. I try not to think about what might happen, instead focusing on trying to prevent any serious injury to myself. But I know in my heart that if I get injured than I'm screwed. At least I'm not supporting a family. 

Dammit, I was just fine ignoring this issue.


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## Stumper

The ugly reality is that workman's comp serves to limit the employer's liability. Without comp the sky is the limit IF the employer is at fault. The catch is collecting on a judgement. It's sad to read this stuff. The employer may be straining his resouces in giving the widow $800 but it makes me want to gag.


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## Reed

No mention of the homeowner's insurance. I know the lawyer who profited off my truck wreck (wasn't even my fault) would target the homeowner.


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## Tim Gardner

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/news/local/4364499.htm


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## M.D. Vaden

*TREE CLIMBER DEATH*

If the spouse has the mental stamina,

and if a tree associate can aid her: I offer the following suggestion:

If someone is willing to still handle the calls and bids and work - or subcontract it, its possible to service their customers.

Then its possible to put the business up for sale as a functioning business - for a percentage of profit for a certain number of years.

Some businesses - this is not workable. For others, with assistance, it can at least put a major dent in the financial loss instead of the whole life's project biting the dust.

I send my sympathy - the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Mario Vaden - Oregon


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## treeclimber165

I'm sorry that you misunderstood the information, Vaden. The man killed was an employee, not an owner. It might have been suggested that the owner (who dropped the tree) might lose his business if the widow were to pursue legal action.


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## Tim Gardner

Check out page 34 of the November 2002 TCI magazine. "Tree Dynamics & Arborist' Techniques Fund"


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