Tree worker killed in Akron,Oh

[Slvrmple72]

Got the news on monday from a fellow climber.
http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/30526269.html

 

[deeker]

Your just full of good news. Reminds us just how short life REALLY is and how small we are in the universe.

Hope his family is taken care of.

Kevin Davis

 

[pdqdl]

That sounds like it might have been the much dreaded "barber chair". Does anyone have any more information on this incident?

 

[pdqdl]

Here is the obituary notice.

He sounds like a pretty good guy.

http://www.legacy.com/ohio/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=118639679

 

[Slvrmple72]

Cut a limb and lower it down after it stops swinging around. Sounds so simple and becomes common practice after so many years... and then unexpectedly a large limb has a fracture in it that lets loose quietly right over your head and thats it. Kinda like a widow maker that suddenly drops and lands on the homeowner mowing his lawn on a perfectly calm day. I didn't ask too many questions of the fellas only shared deeply in their sorrow at losing a good friend, good coworker, and a man who was a good father/provider to his family. Please keep his family in your prayers. Thank you.-Kevin

 

[toddstreeservic]

Was he on the ground or in the air?

 

[Slvrmple72]

He was on the ground running the rope.

 

[epicklein22]

Tough news there. You are so right about that being a common practice. I did it all summer at work and never thought at it breaking. I will have to talk to the guys and see if they possibly knew him.

 

[landrvrnut22]

He was a very good guy. I knew him personally. The job he was killed on was less than a mile from my house.

 

[treemandan]

Cut a limb and lower it down after it stops swinging around. Sounds so simple and becomes common practice after so many years... and then unexpectedly a large limb has a fracture in it that lets loose quietly right over your head and thats it. Kinda like a widow maker that suddenly drops and lands on the homeowner mowing his lawn on a perfectly calm day. I didn't ask too many questions of the fellas only shared deeply in their sorrow at losing a good friend, good coworker, and a man who was a good father/provider to his family. Please keep his family in your prayers. Thank you.-Kevin

I was tied in the top of a mature red oak and just started to walk out the first bbottom branch to put a rope on it. I got about 8 feet out on a 12 inch diameter limb with all my weight and it just went. Only sound it made was when it hit the ground.
The next time some doo doo wants to tell me to relax I am going to put a boot in his butt.

 

[Slvrmple72]

Scary thing about those Reds! They just love to "pop" those branches all of a sudden. I have to fight with those darn Pin Oak limbs. Did you smack into the trunk Dan or was your fall stopped by limbs overhead? REELLAAXX your are among friends!

 

[Slvrmple72]

http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/33205124.html

Sad to say this article in the paper shows just how bad this accident was for this family. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

It saddens me deeply when a large beautiful tree that has been a fixture of a community for decades has to be removed. The loss of that tree leaves a big hole in the landscape and people remember it and grieve its loss.

Far greater is the grief in losing a man like Joe Beckman. Stay sharp, stay safe.

 

[pdqdl]

Slvrmple72: thanks for posting the story.

Perhaps someone should post this sad story into one of the threads about wearing hard hats. Maybe one of the "hard hat haters" in that thread would take the hint.

 

[epicklein22]

Makes me think twice about hard hats. I hate wearing them but this is all that is need to change my habits.

 

[Slvrmple72]

So many questions about this accident. I don't know if he was wearing a helmet. If an assessment had been done on the tree maybe they would have noticed the suspect limb before beginning work and anticipated it was dangerous, maybe not. The article mentions this happened twenty minutes on the job. I do not know how other companies do their work but one thing that I think needs considered is careful inspection of the tree(s) immediately prior to work. I have been amazed at how easily large dead limbs have been yanked off of a tree with little more than my throw weight. It really shocks the HO too!

Each day is a gift.