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The Dangers of Tree Felling
Official Guide to Tree Felling - Volume XXVI ^ | July 13, 2007 | Michael Foley

Posted on 01/03/2021 12:48:13 PM PST by SamAdams76

Lumberjacks, arborists and other tree professionals cut down an untold amount of trees and stumps every year. The extremely high risk associated with tree felling requires them to undertake precautions and measures to protect themselves. Despite the safety precautions, many people still get injured in the line of duty. Tree felling is extremely dangerous, that is why most people rely on professionals to get the job done. Of course, not all tree felling is performed by professionals. Hobbyists cut trees too, along with many property owners, but most of them are backed by decades of experience.

Facts and figures

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, logging and tree felling is the most dangerous industry to work for, with over 200 people dying every year from tree felling-related accidents. In 2012, 60 deaths associated with tree maintenance were reported, and another 120 fatalities recor in the forestry and logging industry. The majority of these fatalities were caused by contact with logging equipment like axes and chainsaws, transportation accidents, falling from and being crushed by trees. 200 might seem like a small number, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. It only includes people who died from their injuries. Thousands of tree felling professionals and support staff get injured from tree care and removal every year. While undertaking safety measures and precautions will not completely eliminate the risks associated with the industry, many of the injuries that occur every year are entirely preventable.

The dangers of tree felling

The most basic danger faced by logging professionals comes from the tools and equipment they use. Machinery like wood chippers, chainsaws, log splitters and other hand and power tools are incredibly dangerous, especially if handled by someone untrained or unprepared. Reckless use is a particularly serious problem as not all who die from tree felling-related injuries are professional tree fellers. Many of the tools that are used by logging professionals are freely available on the market. There are a lot of chainsaws for sale online, and with a few clicks on the computer, someone can become an owner of a chainsaw. A momentary distraction and a chainsaw or wood chipper can cause severe injuries to the person in the blink of an eye. Once injured, the person is certain to face financial ruin due to the cost of hospitalisation and the long period in which they are out of service. Even experienced professionals, people who have been using the equipment for years, can still get injured.

Another major source of danger for tree felling professionals is the trees they work with. A lot can quickly go wrong in the process of cutting a tree down. While the government has mandated the use of safety equipment, many people and companies still cut trees without the requisite tools and equipment. These people are at a greater risk of falling from the tree and injuring themselves. Even those with proper equipment are susceptible to falls, albeit at a reduced risk. Electrical lines can also hurt people out in the field. A tree can fall the wrong way and hit an electrical pole or line, and the live wires can electrocute the people nearby. There are also hazards that reside within or on the tree itself. Many species of poisonous and toxic plants and insects make trees their home. Workers who are not wearing the proper protective gear, upon contact with the creature, can find themselves rushed to the emergency room. Some trees even emit poisonous fluids. Dead and dying trees, and trees with rotting wood, pose a major risk to arborists and lumberjacks. A tree that is dying is more weak and unstable, and workers have a more difficult time predicting and controlling how it comes down. The trunks of dying and deceased trees are often hollowed out, and their limbs more unstable and prone to falling without warning.

Finally, a lot can go wrong while the tree is falling down. No one can be completely sure that a tree falls down according to plan, and they have to prepare for the deviations that may occur. Sometimes, those deviations can be disastrous, like a tree falling on a home, on power lines, or on people. They might do everything by the book, prepared accordingly, and something still can go wrong.



TOPICS: Outdoors
KEYWORDS: lumber; trees
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1 posted on 01/03/2021 12:48:13 PM PST by SamAdams76
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To: SamAdams76

Wow! That’s pretty awesome!


2 posted on 01/03/2021 12:53:14 PM PST by sauropod (Cui bono? I will not comply.)
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To: SamAdams76

one of the things a lot of people underestimate in terms of work around their property


3 posted on 01/03/2021 12:53:55 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: SamAdams76

More gifs:
https://tenor.com/search/cutting-tree-gifs


4 posted on 01/03/2021 12:54:50 PM PST by minnesota_bound (I need more money. )
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To: SamAdams76

OK...I’m very impressed.


5 posted on 01/03/2021 12:56:01 PM PST by moovova
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To: SamAdams76

If that’s you in the GIF, I’m impressed.


6 posted on 01/03/2021 12:56:10 PM PST by Zhang Fei (My dad had a Delta 88. That was a car. It was like driving your living room.)
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To: sauropod

Wow! That’s pretty awesome!
__________________________
Sure and no doubt lots of experience and skill.... but when you are inches from roofs, don’t underestimate the luck factor.


7 posted on 01/03/2021 12:57:44 PM PST by hecticskeptic
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To: SamAdams76

He was right to give thanks!

(I still have phantom feelings in a limb smashed by a tree that fell not where I intended, in heavy underbrush. A dead tree — unpredictable as article notes and I learned the painful way.)


8 posted on 01/03/2021 1:00:29 PM PST by polymuser (A socialist is a communist without the power to take everything from their citizens...yet.)
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To: hecticskeptic

Definitely a pucker moment.


9 posted on 01/03/2021 1:05:25 PM PST by sauropod (Cui bono? I will not comply.)
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To: SamAdams76

We heat with firewood I cut myself and live in heavy hardwood forest where all the oak and hickory I need is in the few trees that die each year in our 20 acres and 100 surrounding acres.

I’ve been felling large trees (24” DBH & larger) for almost 50 years, and by God’s grace, only one tree didn’t go where I aimed it. Most have gone within 5 deg. of where I’ve aimed them. Yes, ropes and chains & tension are sometimes required. Just felled a 14” oak at my son’s house last week & it was a bulls-eye.

Professional loggers might get careless, but I don’t. And I always pray before felling a large tree.

God is good. And full of mercy and grace for fools like me.

BTW - I am 75.


10 posted on 01/03/2021 1:05:45 PM PST by Arlis
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To: SamAdams76

Excellent,the guy that did my serious tree removal and hardwood management in Ct could point to the spot he would put it and it would land there.

Noting as serious as smack dab between 2 buildings, nice job


11 posted on 01/03/2021 1:06:54 PM PST by CGASMIA68
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To: Arlis

And yes, I always give thanks when the tree goes where I prayed it would go!


12 posted on 01/03/2021 1:07:14 PM PST by Arlis
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To: SamAdams76

13 posted on 01/03/2021 1:08:02 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Arlis

But I wouldn’t think of attempting what this guy did!


14 posted on 01/03/2021 1:08:32 PM PST by Arlis
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To: SamAdams76

I can generally drop ‘em where I want ‘em, but that - that’s a miracle.


15 posted on 01/03/2021 1:09:39 PM PST by Noumenon ("Only the dead have seen an end to war." - Plato (KTF))
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To: SamAdams76

“They want tree fellers, and there’s only two of us!” (Benny Hill)


16 posted on 01/03/2021 1:13:19 PM PST by chajin ("There is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12)
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To: minnesota_bound

some of those idiots got seriously damaged, physically. Mentally some were already shot.


17 posted on 01/03/2021 1:13:54 PM PST by CGASMIA68
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To: SamAdams76

I posted a similar link recently...

A bit more care being taken also means a bit more time... but still very instructive to see how you can take down a problematic tree with less risk of doing the damage to the surroundings that otherwise seem almost inevitable:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rwx6Z3Fzjo


18 posted on 01/03/2021 1:15:01 PM PST by Sense
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To: Arlis
My place is almost exclusively jack pine, fir and tamarack. The latter two is all I'll consider for firewood. If you've got a decent trailer, a sturdy off road vehicle and decent road conditions, you can do pretty well cleaning up logging company leftovers. I run two saws - a Echo Timberwolf with either 20" or 24" bars and little Poulan 16" limbing saw. Gets the job done.

Thumbs up - I'll be 70 this year.

19 posted on 01/03/2021 1:15:55 PM PST by Noumenon ("Only the dead have seen an end to war." - Plato (KTF))
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To: SamAdams76

That’s impressive. I owned 15 acres of virgin woodlands for several years. Lots of trees. I owned three chainsaws. My in-laws had another 400 acres a few miles away. Cut a lot of trees. One thing I learned is this: limbing up a downed tree can be far more dangerous than felling the tree. Those limbs are under a lot of tension and you gotta be careful


20 posted on 01/03/2021 1:18:30 PM PST by DugwayDuke (Biden - Not My President!)
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