Man rescued from under fallen tree

[Iembalm4aLiving]

A local story about a man pinned under a tree he was cutting...it's base was 42 inches. Yikes.

(broken link removed to http://news-herald.com/articles/2011/11/14/news/doc4ebfe9e7f007b297182496.txt)

 

[Danno77]

That sounds horrible. Hope he lives, better yet if he isn't horribly crippled from this.

 

[shawneyboy]

Wow he is lucky his fiance called the police, otherwise who knows how long he would have been there.

 

[DanCorcoran]

When I lived in rural Colorado, we had a heavy snowstorm which left 18" of packed snow on top of the almost-flat roof of the lean-to behind my shop building. I needed to get up on the roof to clear the snow, because another storm was forecast, but was afraid the roof might collapse at any time. My wife was in Virginia visiting relatives and our nearest neighbors were about 1/3 mile away. What I ended up doing was calling my wife on my cellphone as I climbed up on the roof. After making a few passes with the snow shovel I hung up, but we agreed that she would call me back every 15 minutes. If I didn't answer, she was to call the neighbors (or, if they weren't home the next closest neighbors).

It all turned out okay, but working alone in a remote location requires that you plan for the worst-case scenario.

 

[bpirger]

I built our house in the middle of our 44 acres. When I'm felling, I'll call on the cell phone every 15 minutes or so, then setup a call back time. Usually another 15 minutes. I can readily fall two good sized trees in that amount of time. The house is only 1000' away, but I hate having people around when I'm felling. I'd rather be looking at my saw and up....and not having to worry about someone else. Not sure if I could survive 15 minutes under a tree...but more likely that than hours. Once I'm just topping and skidding, I welcome the hands-on help. Folks who go out and cut without any monitoring plan, but all dressed in their PPE, makes no sense. Sh!t happens...even to the most experienced!

 

[Gary_602z]

Always make sure that you have your cell phone ON you and not on the tractor or ATV.

Gary

 

[OhioBurner©]

Folks who go out and cut without any monitoring plan, but all dressed in their PPE, makes no sense. Sh!t happens...even to the most experienced!

Well for some of us its either that or its a pretty cold winter! Well I guess there is always the choice of buying wood but that hasnt worked so well for me yet except from one neighbor who has only small amounts for sale. I used to go out with hardly any ppe, this forum has educated me on ppe, and now I have chaps, helmet, first aid, and an overnight bag if I get stuck (almost came in handy once, truck broke down back in the woods at the bottom of the valley!). Unfortunately cell phones dont work in the woods. On the top of the hill around the house its hit or miss.

 

[tamarack]

Folks who go out and cut without any monitoring plan, but all dressed in their PPE, makes no sense. Sh!t happens...even to the most experienced!

Well for some of us its either that or its a pretty cold winter! Well I guess there is always the choice of buying wood but that hasnt worked so well for me yet except from one neighbor who has only small amounts for sale. I used to go out with hardly any ppe, this forum has educated me on ppe, and now I have chaps, helmet, first aid, and an overnight bag if I get stuck (almost came in handy once, truck broke down back in the woods at the bottom of the valley!). Unfortunately cell phones dont work in the woods. On the top of the hill around the house its hit or miss.

I hear ya. If you guys ever saw me cutting a load, I'd be kicked off this website. I don't know what ppe stands for. Cell phones don't work where I cut, and I always cut alone. Guess I'm an old school dummy.
I don't wear a bike helmet either ;-)

 

[DanCorcoran]

"I don’t wear a bike helmet either ;-) "

So what's funny about that? PPE is personal protective equipment. Sounds like natural selection will come into play here sooner or later.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

"I don’t wear a bike helmet either ;-) "

So what's funny about that? PPE is personal protective equipment. Sounds like natural selection will come into play here sooner or later.

That's a pretty mean thing to say.

One thing I know for sure is that some people need a lot more PPE than others. Some of the people I have worked with no amount of PPE could stop them from getting hurt.

 

[red oak]

Good reminder for us all to be safe out there - accidents can happen anytime.

My father in law told me when he was much younger he was pinned under a tree. No cell phone and all alone in the woods. He was able to reach his saw and cut the log into sections to get out! Not sure what I think about that but I guess you have to get out any way you can.

 

[HittinSteel]

I saw the guys picture and the area on the news ..... and I may be really jumping to conclusions here, but I'm thinking this was a wild thing tree take down without a hinge. I have a decent amount of felling experience and would still likely leave a 42"er to the pros

 

[snowleopard]

Earlier this year there was a post on here about a man in Manitoba who was pinned under a spruce tree for three days. There was some freezing rain falling, but they figured the thick branches of the spruce tree sheltered him and kept him alive. IIRC, the man said that he heard wolves howling each night. That would have been a miserable way to go if they'd found him. Quite the ordeal . . .

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Earlier this year there was a post on here about a man in Manitoba who was pinned under a spruce tree for three days. There was some freezing rain falling, but they figured the thick branches of the spruce tree sheltered him and kept him alive. IIRC, the man said that he heard wolves howling each night. That would have been a miserable way to go if they'd found him. Quite the ordeal . . .

I remember a story about some old guy who got trapped in his backyard when his outhouse floor collapsed. He was trapped in the hole in a pile of his own $#!+ for something like 3 days. Fortunetly someone happen to drop by his house and heard his yelling, but if they hadn't,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Well,,,,,,, I think I would rather be eaten by wolves. :shut:

 

[snowleopard]

. . . and was he wearing a bike helmet? Hmmm? Hmmm? My point exactly!

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

"I don’t wear a bike helmet either ;-) "

So what's funny about that? PPE is personal protective equipment. Sounds like natural selection will come into play here sooner or later.

That's a pretty mean thing to say.

One thing I know for sure is that some people need a lot more PPE than others. Some of the people I have worked with no amount of PPE could stop them from getting hurt.

When I bike, I wear ALL the PPE I can get. NY has a helmet law.

When I ski, and when I 'get wood' I prefer less. What can I say. Of course, I'm not sure which item of PPE is going to save you from being crushed by a 42" tree . . .

 

[DanCorcoran]

My comment was directed toward riding road bikes (bicycles) without helmets. I've known several people who would have suffered serious head injuries, had it not been for their helmets. I don't know any serious riders who ride without them.

 

[weatherguy]

A kid I went to school with got paralyzed by a tree and my brother in laws brother got killed. Both were experienced and both instances were trees that bounced off another tree. The kid that got paralyzed dropped a tree into a dead tree that fell on him, in the other case, he cut the tree and jumped onto his tractor, trying to work fast and the tree bounced off another tree and landed on him.

 

[babzog]

Always run 45* away from the direction the tree is falling. That said, trees can and do odd things at times. I was cutting at a buddy's last year and one tree that should have easily gone one way, went 90* to the left instead. Hit the roof of an old abandoned shed and sprang up into the air. I took off running the opposite way it fell and was watching it the whole time. If I'd been watching where I was going instead, I'd have avoided landing on the stump of the tree I'd cut previously, breaking at least one rib in the process. That sucked.

 

[Danno77]

"I don’t wear a bike helmet either ;-) "

So what's funny about that? PPE is personal protective equipment. Sounds like natural selection will come into play here sooner or later.

That's a pretty mean thing to say.

One thing I know for sure is that some people need a lot more PPE than others. Some of the people I have worked with no amount of PPE could stop them from getting hurt.

When I bike, I wear ALL the PPE I can get. NY has a helmet law.

When I ski, and when I 'get wood' I prefer less. What can I say. Of course, I'm not sure which item of PPE is going to save you from being crushed by a 42" tree . . .

We all bought ski helmets last winter. Since the 6/7 year old was attaining speeds that were making me cringe we decided it was time. Thought it would be nice to lead by example as well. I gotta tell you, I was skeptical at first, but I really love it. It's comfy and warm!

I guess my point is that you need chaps. LoL. If for no other reason the news reporter will say "he was an experienced tree feller who valued safety, then this tree fell on him" as opposed to the "an amateur was squished by a tree today."

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

No fear Danno, I'll never be mistaken for a pro :vampire:

And you know what they say . . . pics or it didn't happen Danno
(broken image removed)

 

[Danno77]

Because I'm bored
Ethan skiing early last season (almost 7yrs):
http://youtu.be/SIjZssJviGY
http://youtu.be/nDChRionWSk

Isabella skiing last season (2 1/2yrs):
http://youtu.be/nrI4imYuUT0
http://youtu.be/Yob02jOdvCc

 

[bpirger]

I didn't mean to come across as insulting or anything of the sort....just have heard too much of this, and personally, this is the one thing I fear in the whole wood thing. It's likely to survive a stupid saw accident, albeit perhaps with a big scar and lots of down time. But not too many survive a tree felling incident. There's a reason why logging is the most dangerous occupation. At least tell someone where you are going if you can't have phone contact. Also not sure if having a phone on your person would help either....depends on how you are pinned I guess.

So those guys who climb trees and top them for the heli logging? That's nuts! And they move from tree to tree with a grapling hook and rope.....Now that's a real man....Not a weekend warrior like me.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Nice job with the lipstick cam Danno! No question that logging is more dangerous than skiing. . . plus the scenery is way hotter at the slopes :coolsmile:

 

[firefighterjake]

No fear Danno, I'll never be mistaken for a pro :vampire:

And you know what they say . . . pics or it didn't happen Danno
(broken image removed)

Thanks for the laugh . . . just picturing you wearing this made me chuckle out loud . . . and yes . . . I'm posting with the pic again just because it amuses me so much.