1000 ways to die

[beastmaster]

Were in a dangerous business, trees can be unpredictable. Those of us who do palms know they often times have the potential to be dangerous. We migrate the risks by knowing what they are and being vigilant.
I had an incident a few months ago while doing a routine washingtonia filifera removal that almost turned out bad. I was working with an inexperenced, lazy crew. We parked a 14 foot trailer right next to the fence. I planed on throwing the chunks into it as I cut them The lift it was parked close to the base.
I cut the fronds off first, it was so thick they wouldnt fall. The ground guy were not keeping up even a little so all the fronds were piled around the base of palm and lift. I switched from a small trimming saw to my 'Baby",a modded husky 372, big bore kit, some mild porting, and a muffler mod. Sounds like a drag bike. So i start chunking and throwing the chunks into the trailer now half full of fronds. My saw kept starting the stringy fluff on the palm on fire. I would just pat it out. At some point the little fires got out of hand and pieces started falling into the dead fronds around the base. Im yelling for a grounds men there no where to be found. A neighbor comes out and starts spraying it with a garden hose. All this took maybe 30 seconds. The groundsmen show up and they grap a hose and start spraying. The fire got beat down befor it really got going. That spider lift moves really slow, another 30 seconds that fire would been around me like a funeral pyre.
Now we all laugh about it, they call my husky "fire starter", but if that neighbor hadnt of came out and started spraying, It could of easily been one of those accedents where people say"who would of thought?"I may of been able to jump into the trailer from 35ft or so ,maybe not, but the new $80,000 spider lift wouldnt of made it, and Im not sure i would of.. So anyone else have any close calls of a unusual nature they want to share?

 

[Pelorus]

Carelessness and or stupidity has almost terminated me lotsa times! 10 years ago this month I got launched outta my old L45 Asplundh bucket while not tied in...
Landed on my back between the cab and the box right beside the exhaust stack.
Resulted in broken pelvis & three vertebrae. Two weeks in hospital.
Terrific learning experience.

 

[mauldinoutdoor]

Was that a crew you regularly work with?

 

[Del_]

Add one more reason to the list of why to not bury the ground crew.

Glad all was OK.

 

[mauldinoutdoor]

Beast master said it was a lazy crew. When I worked for other companies, I cooperated with ground crews to pace the cutting with their ability to keep up. My 100% should have been matched by their 100%. I have always cut and thrown butt ends towards the chipper as often as possible but if the crew failed to keep pace by laziness or simply using inefficient habits then I have cut and watched them fight with a pile, then addressed the issue and started again. As an owner now I address the issue first then take steps to remedy the problem. I've had guys walk under a limb fresh cut with me holding it up waiting on the swing to setup the pitch towards chipper with their heads down slow walking over to the shade. If I understood beast master the fronds hung up together and then we're falling in clumps rather than the planned launch to trailer, where did the ground men go if the neighbor was there before they were?

 

[since16]

After dragging brush with the mini to the chipper I had to leave it by the curb there was a 18" dirt drop off. Turned the mini trying to get the brush closer brush got caught in the grapple hoses and when it happens like that it pushes the machine up and turns it nearly flipping it in about a second. It almost went over and would have landed on the guy chipping.

 

[CanopyGorilla]

My closest call was in Lochsa country in Idaho. I had a cat pulling a huge block against hard lean with a rope that was too small. Things went bad. No property damage no injuries but I walked away knowing full well I almost died.

 

[beastmaster]

Carelessness and or stupidity has almost terminated me lotsa times! 10 years ago this month I got launched outta my old L45 Asplundh bucket while not tied in...
Landed on my back between the cab and the box right beside the exhaust stack.
Resulted in broken pelvis & three vertebrae. Two weeks in hospital.
Terrific learning experience.

 

[beastmaster]

I don't downplay my own stupidity in that fiasco, and I know how to pace a job not to bury the grounds men. I work for several tree services, this company was having personal problems. I told the owner he should fire the one groundsmen the week before. The other groundsmen was his friend he brought with him for this job. It was close to 100 deg. that day. The owner told me it shouldn't take over 6 hours to finish the job. Where were they? tThey were in a vehicle running the A/C on their phones, smoking a cigarette. All day every day the one guy has his phone in his hand talking or texting. The fronds were coming down in clumps , which i wrestled down. The clumps could of been pulled out of the work area if they were on it. They have a good forman but he wasn't there that day. It took two days to finish up that job.
It was a bigger job then estimated, but not a two day job. I had it down in 5 hours. Untangling those fronds piled up was a pain. I did most of it. Had to cut a lot of it out. I would of gladly lifted small bundles of fronds over the fence into the trailer with the boom, but not all tangled, those spider lifts are kind of fragile. My wife worked harder then those dudes. She refuse to work with the one guy cuz he didn't pull his weight.
I appreciate good grounds people, but these days im lucky if I come across one who can tie a knot or run a chainsaw

 

[Del_]

Add one more reason to the list of why to not bury the ground crew.

Glad all was OK.

My point is not to suggest that Beastmaster is in any way at fault for a poor performing ground crew. I've never experienced a fire hazard like the one he was up against, it is truly scary.

The use of lifts and or heavy rigging makes it easy to put double or triple the material on the ground that a crew can clean up in real time. Sometimes it's best to just bury them and get down and help out to get the job done. Most of the times though it's just best to let the work flow at the clean up crews pace, as agonizing slow as that can be at times meaning being in the air literally having time to twiddle your thumbs.

A fire hazard like in this case though.

Well that is a new one to me and it's a real eye opener.

Being aloft gives one an overview of the job people on the ground just don't get. Inefficiencies are obvious and frustrating. Slow movers need remotely activated shocking collars!

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

I have had a couple fires like this, I suppose drilling holes in saw mufflers ain't such a great idea. Who hasn't watched embers accumulate on a dry punky trunk from a muffler, ported or not? Flushing stumps? Geez, sometimes I just zone out and watch it.

One fire got started when I put a bigger saw in a tool box after using it. I actually let the saws cool off before stowing them these days.

Whenever I buy a new saw they tell me to bring it back after break-in so they can adjust it or whatever. The only thing they do is take out the spark arrestor, toss it across the shop into a trash can and give me a vague triumphant look. I'm like, " Uh, Thanks?"

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

Wait! A/C in a truck!? When did they start putting A/C in the trucks? Hell if I knew that I would be sitting in that SOB perusing internet **** all day long but I don't even get moving pictures on my phone.

 

[jefflovstrom]

Were in a dangerous business, trees can be unpredictable. Those of us who do palms know they often times have the potential to be dangerous. We migrate the risks by knowing what they are and being vigilant.
I had an incident a few months ago while doing a routine washingtonia filifera removal that almost turned out bad. I was working with an inexperenced, lazy crew. We parked a 14 foot trailer right next to the fence. I planed on throwing the chunks into it as I cut them The lift it was parked close to the base.
I cut the fronds off first, it was so thick they wouldnt fall. The ground guy were not keeping up even a little so all the fronds were piled around the base of palm and lift. I switched from a small trimming saw to my 'Baby",a modded husky 372, big bore kit, some mild porting, and a muffler mod. Sounds like a drag bike. So i start chunking and throwing the chunks into the trailer now half full of fronds. My saw kept starting the stringy fluff on the palm on fire. I would just pat it out. At some point the little fires got out of hand and pieces started falling into the dead fronds around the base. Im yelling for a grounds men there no where to be found. A neighbor comes out and starts spraying it with a garden hose. All this took maybe 30 seconds. The groundsmen show up and they grap a hose and start spraying. The fire got beat down befor it really got going. That spider lift moves really slow, another 30 seconds that fire would been around me like a funeral pyre.
Now we all laugh about it, they call my husky "fire starter", but if that neighbor hadnt of came out and started spraying, It could of easily been one of those accedents where people say"who would of thought?"I may of been able to jump into the trailer from 35ft or so ,maybe not, but the new $80,000 spider lift wouldnt of made it, and Im not sure i would of.. So anyone else have any close calls of a unusual nature they want to share?

Not like yours!,,,
Jeff