Anybody Ever Seriously Injured By Wood Pile Collapse?

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jadm

jadm

New Member
Dec 31, 2007
918
colorado
Two of my children and my nephew spent the day stacking our wood for next year. All very conscientious and much care taken in straight stacks etc. due to my husband's concerns about falling stacks and serious injury. (He wasn't home but I knew he would be worried..)

They did an outstanding job. I was very proud of them all.

Husband came home and first comment was that stacks were too tall. I assured him that they were not over 4 1/2 ft. tall.

He didn't believe me but didn't want to measure - just complain.....

He is sure one of the children will get killed by a falling stack....(My children are 12, 15 and 19 years old and all taller than the stacks....)

Now I know stacks can and do topple - I have read it here. I have never read of anyone being seriously injured. Just thought I'd check though I don't think my husband will believe me if I tell him what I get as responses....

I love my wood....husband does not and would love to have it banned for good. Maybe I should let him be home all day and most of the evening in a cold house and see the price we used to pay to be cold! ( I have told him but he forgets..)
 
my Neighbors brothers cousin threw marriage twice removed brothers friend's cousins room mate in college's best friend died from a wood pile falling down ;) (Naw I just couldn't help myself)
 
With my kids, I stress the importance of paying attention at all times. That being said, you can usually tell when a pile is going to go over and have plenty of time to get out of the way.
 
Nope!

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No injuries, but it did give us something to worry about...our piles collapsed quite a bit. Another reason why we just pile wood now...you can pile more than twice as high as you can stack.

...and when you hear or see a wall of wood come crashing down you'll be thinking about the 'what ifs' to.
 
If the wood is very green when stacked in multiple rows close together, it can have a tendency to dry and shrink faster on the exposed face and get a lean on. I generally leave my wood out loose piled for a few months before I stack it 9 feet high in the shed.
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A 5 foot pile of would could possibly cause an ankle/toe injury if it fell on a 12 year old, but other than that,it's not at all dangerous. Plus, a 12 year old knows to get out of the way of a falling pile.

What does your husband have against the wood? It's a bit strange to me that someone would think oil/ng/whatever is a better alternative, especially in the safety department.
 
fyrwoodguy said:
tell the children to stay OFF ones like this,they will get squashed if the logs roll
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If there were any kids in my neighborhood I certainly wouldn't leave my log pile this precarious.

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Animals playing/fighting/chasing/hunting could topple a poorly stacked row. My cat managed to pull down one large spit when he jumped up. I found the split on the ground with fur on it so suspect that he and the wood fell at once.
 
My rows are stacked about 7' high and my kids are pretty small, 6yrs. and 4yrs., so I emphasize that they stay away from the rows.
 
Falling wood ain't even listed as a cause of death in teens.

I'm 49 years old and ain't NEVER read, heard, seen, found, been told of, dreamed about, seen a picture of, read on the internet, seen a youtube video of, nor any other possible way of receiving news, heard of a kid being injured or killed by a falling wood pile.
 
Thanks for the replies. I knew what you were going to say before I even posted.

I have learned everything I know about wood and all I know about safety here.

My children have been indoctrinated by me and know as much as I do. They did have part of a stack fall over last year that they were stacking - no injuries and it made them much more cognizant of how they re-stacked that stack and how they stacked this year. They are very quick learners. ;-)

I am not concerned. If anything topples them it will be our dogs who scrounge around them looking for something to chew on.

I am the wood/fire lover in our house. Husband just sees it as work even though he doesn't do any of the wood hauling or stacking. He does build fires sometimes on really cold mornings but other than that it is up to me and the children. He works long hours in heated buildings and doesn't have to pay their heat bills...Only 1 day off a week so he has no experience being home and being cold all day and still paying high utility bills....Maybe when he retires he will get why I do this...

I certainly do not put any pressure on him to do anything about it because I know how he feels. He sometimes looks for things to complain about. I know if I stopped wood burning he would find something else to harp about so I am learning to turn a deaf ear. Every once in awhile he will participate and really enjoy himself - always comes as a surprise...

P.S. I can't leave wood in a pile. We live in the suburbs and have limited space to stack. I have to keep stacks away from sprinkler system ( Hubby likes those green lawns - I would prefer something more practical like a really nice wood shed...) and below our 6' privacy fence line. I envy all of you who have space to stack multiple years worth of wood. My space is limited to 4 cords. This year we burned about 3 cords so my space is tight.
 
Hay J, it could be worse...... my SO is leaning towards a *looks over shoulder, and whispers* PELLET STOVE 8-/

:lol:
 
perplexed said:
P.S. I can't leave wood in a pile. We live in the suburbs and have limited space to stack. I have to keep stacks away from sprinkler system ( Hubby likes those green lawns - I would prefer something more practical like a really nice wood shed...) and below our 6' privacy fence line. I envy all of you who have space to stack multiple years worth of wood. My space is limited to 4 cords. This year we burned about 3 cords so my space is tight.
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Do you stack your wood against the fence? We (well, I) stack against a 5-ft block wall and have had it topple exactly once - semi buried my Ranger, but noting living (that I know of). If your hubby is really worried, you could put some of that plastic net fencing over your "inactive" stacks (i.e., everything but what you're currently using). OTOH, maybe hubby is just using safety as an excuse to cover his general dislike of the wood?

Good luck.

Peace,
- Sequoia
 
In my time (see my signature) the only thing I've ever had happen to me or anybody else was to pinch a finger or thumb or have a block of wood fall on your toe to make you dance for a bit. I've lost a few fingernails but those were all done when splitting and not after the wood was stacked. I've never even heard anyone being concerned about anyone getting seriously injured from a stacked wood pile! Perhaps it is just because he doesn't like wood?
 
I wonder if it would be an interesting thread on the topic of wood stoves and spouses, paticularly spouses who are apposed to wood burning. My wife and daughter love the wood stove, but I wonder what it would be like if they didn't.
 
There's only one way to find out ;-)
 
I were my boots but nothing serious but have thought about it. I am an amateur stacker. Have has several tip overs while stacking, so far just a few bruises, aches, and ego hurts but nothing serious. My neighbor was out when I had one topple, he said "if you stack it better you wouldn't have that", I told him he should come over and show me how to do it, he disappeared a few minutes latter I hear country music playing "What kinda fool do you think I am".
 
I usually stack my seasoning piles in 7 ft tall HHs on semi-level ground, with the wood falling towards the center by way of shims on the outside. I try to knock them over to make sure they're sturdy enough when I'm done. Oh, and my 6-year-old daughter knows better than to go near the wood pile. The wood we're currently burning is on our porch, only about 3-4 foot high.

I've never heard of anyone getting hurt, but of course being a parent I can think of 10,000 ways my child can get hurt, and think of new ones every day.
 
more likely drown in the bath tub

just don't tell them that - it'll be the next excuse for stench.
 
billb3 said:
more likely drown in the bath tub

just don't tell them that - it'll be the next excuse for stench.
Click to expand...

Yep...thought of that one, too.
 
I just tell my kids (10 and 14) to stay away from these piles. They helped build them and I don't think they want to go near wood any time soon :lol:
 

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