RE: Lots of lessons to be learned here . . .

[firefighterjake]

http://bangordailynews.com/2016/09/...-told-his-son-the-driver/?ref=regionpenobscot

Safety gear . . .

Not cutting firewood in the back of a pick-up . . .

And much more . . .

 

[7acres]

Goodness sakes. What a story. Glad everybody lived!

 

[tarzan]

Complacency? That's my thoughts after the guy said "I've been running a chainsaw for 55 years."

My daughter recently got her learners permit. I was very nervous about letting her drive but soon realized, although she is not driving smoothly she is so alert, cautious, and focused on the task at hand that we were probably more likely to be in an accident if I were driving.

 

[Simonkenton]

I use chain saws all the time for firewood, and last year built a log cabin using 2 Sthils and a Husqvarna, ran those saws about 2 hours a day for 10 months.
You had better respect them for they surely are dangerous.
Fifteen years ago I was cutting brush, had just let off on the trigger and the big Stihl was just going to idle when it brushed against my left thigh.
What a mess! Got 34 big stitches and the chain was barely moving.

That man from Maine is so lucky, the chain just missed the arteries in his neck.

 

[firefighterjake]

(broken link removed to http://www.wlbz2.com/news/local/chainsaw-accident-leads-to-speeding-charges-for-victims-son/318049104)

Follow up.

 

[Handsonautotech]

What safety gear prevents this? My sthil has a chain brake I think would have stopped it if I had both hands on the saw right? go folks cut with a full face mask?

 

[firefighterjake]

Chain brake doesn't always work . . . depends on the situation.

Some folks have been known to disable that feature . . . I know my father used to run a saw for years without a chain brake. I don't recall why, but I think it was something to do with keeping the saw running and he just didn't have the money to fix it at the time.

I'm not sure any gear would protect a person . . . although cutting wood on terra firma vs. the bed of a pick up might be a good start in terms of good safety practices.

 

[Lake Girl]

Safe cutting practices play a bigger part in this incident... Good to hear that he survived but hope his son doesn't lose a policing career over it.

 

[branchburner]

Complacency? That's my thoughts after the guy said "I've been running a chainsaw for 55 years."

I think that's the biggest lesson to take away here. More experience does not equal better practices if you take the inherent dangers for granted and become numb to them.

And yes, I think that shows up on the road more than anywhere else... thousands of cars doing 75mph with barely two car lengths between them.

 

[CenterTree]

It is good to read or hear of a story such as this every once in a while.
It helps to remind us of how quickly stuff can happen, even to those of us who have been cutting for years.

Pay attention, don't rush , take breaks, wear your safety gear!.


.

 

[Simonkenton]

Like I said, I use a chain saw more than most people and I don't use any safety gear, except for ear protection. Kevlar chaps would be hot and heavy for me, any of that other safety gear would be bulky and hot and do more harm than good.

My outfit for all that cutting while building the log cabin was tennis shoes and shorts and a tshirt.
I used ear plugs and headphone noise reducers.

When cutting firewood I do wear long pants.

I am not telling anyone else how they should run a chain saw but this is my way.

By the way all modern saws have chain brakes. That guy in the OP was cutting up at head level, or higher. When the saw kicked back there wasn't time for the brake to stop the chain. But, the brake almost certainly engaged and slowed the chain, I mean, it would take about a half-second for that chain to hit your face and neck. So, I bet the brake slowed the chain and that saved his life.

Otherwise I don't know what safety gear would have helped, a helmet with bulletproof face mask, and a kevlar turtleneck sweater.
Of course like I said a helmet would do more harm than good 99.8 percent of the time.

 

[pixelated]

The problem (if you want to call it that) with safety equipment is that you don't need it until you really need it, then it's too late for making a choice.
Well designed and correctly fitting gear doesn't get in the way. Reconstructive surgery isn't comfortable either.

Not that I'm in a position to preach though, I don't have saw chaps, though I do use one of those combo hardhat, ear muffs and face shields.

As for the guy in the article, aside from paying better attention to what the saw is doing, I'm not sure what what gear would have helped, maybe bib chaps or a cut-retardant shirt, judging from what's available on Stihl's website.

 

[Ashful]

The last line stuck with me, "how does that happen"? I'd love someone to explain how you get that injury with two hands on the saw, so I can avoid it.


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[tarzan]

The last line stuck with me, "how does that happen"? I'd love someone to explain how you get that injury with two hands on the saw, so I can avoid it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Since the only thing we can do is theorize, here's mine.

A saw can kick back HARD and honestly the guy was getting up there in age. It's just facts that you lose muscle, stamina and reflexes as you get older.

Quick story. I used to help my dad get in his firewood. Over the years it began to feel more like he was helping me get in his firewood. Now, it scares the hell out of me every time he starts his saw but in his mind, he's just as good once as he ever was!

 

[sportbikerider78]

(broken link removed to http://www.wlbz2.com/news/local/chainsaw-accident-leads-to-speeding-charges-for-victims-son/318049104)

Follow up.

I hate to see people prosecuted for speeding when they really are doing the right thing.

If the guy was a cops son rushing his dad to the hospital, he would be hailed as a hero and a parade thrown.

I have been in similar situations 3 times in my life. I have passed cops doing 4 x the speed limit. I have no regrets and nothing to apologize for.

 

[Ashful]

I hate to see people prosecuted for speeding when they really are doing the right thing.

If the guy was a cops son rushing his dad to the hospital, he would be hailed as a hero and a parade thrown.

I have been in similar situations 3 times in my life. I have passed cops doing 4 x the speed limit. I have no regrets and nothing to apologize for.

Perhaps you missed this quote from the arresting officer in the original story: “The point that we are trying to drive home is that driving over 100 mph through a school zone is unreasonable."

If it were my kid's school, I'd hope he gets more than a ticket.

 

[Simonkenton]

"The last line stuck with me, "how does that happen"? I'd love someone to explain how you get that injury with two hands on the saw, so I can avoid it. "

You can't avoid it. You are cutting above your head, you screw up and the top part of the point of the bar hits the tree, and the saw kicks back.
You are up the creek, whether you are a 65 year old geezer or a 28 year old lumberjack. That saw is going to hit you.

Like I said the chain brake will kick in immediately, and that is what saved this guy's life.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Perhaps you missed this quote from the arresting officer in the original story: “The point that we are trying to drive home is that driving over 100 mph through a school zone is unreasonable."

If it were my kid's school, I'd hope he gets more than a ticket.

Unreasonable if you think it will save your dad's life?
I'd do it...and I have kids too. 99% of the time..the kids are no where near the road in a school zone.

 

[Elle]

I have no idea if this is good or not, but I"m always a little to the side of the blade so if it does kick back it should miss most of me unless it kicks back to the side I am not afraid of it, but I certainly have a lot of respect for it. This may sound silly but I sort of visualize what would happen if it did kick...like preparing a bit so I have a bit of a plan in that split second... I dunno...silly and futile I guess.

I had an incident a few years ago with tree that fell down in the back. Was checking out the large branches to cut and thought I found a good spot to cut it that was up off the ground a bit and just looked like a good place to cut it, lol. I started to cut and when the branch fell to the ground another branch zipped by my head.....like it was spring loaded. I have no idea where it came from. I wear a hard hat that is rated pretty good (used it for search and rescue) but I doubt even that would have saved me. It was a learning experience for sure and luckily I lived to type about it.

I probably didn't explain this all that good, and by branch I mean it was like 4 inches.

 

[Simonkenton]

Dangerous, dangerous.

I told above about the 34 stitches I got in the thigh, cutting brush.

Well, in July of 2007 I was cutting some big pine trees so my neighbors could get a view of the French Broad River. This, up in the mountains of North Carolina.
I cut down a 95 foot white pine, about 20 inch diameter. It fell right where I wanted.
This was on a hill side about a 45 degree slope. Unfortunately, I felled the tree so that it fell uphill.
The tree hit the ground and I began walking downhill.
In about 10 seconds, the tree began to slide downhill, really fast! I was ahead of the tree and could not see it.
My buddy downhill saw that this tree was about to hit me and began yelling at me.
I looked back and saw the tree headed for me, butt first. I dodged to the side, but the big tree ran against my leg and dragged me beneath it.
I was pulled beneath the tree and then the trunk fell to earth and stopped.
I was pinned beneath the tree.

Took 40 minutes for the rescue squad to get there and cut me out. My buddy had a chain saw of his own but he was a Florida Yankee and could not even crank up his own chain saw!
So I was pinned for 40 minutes, caused massive soft tissue damage to the right leg, Plus broke the femur, the thigh bone, right in the knee.
Very bad injury.

I had emergency surgery in Asheveille that day and doc screwed the femur back together with 4 screws. Doc said that, 10 more minutes pinned there and the soft tissue damage would have been too much and my leg would have been amputated.
Bad as that was, six months later the surgery went to crap.
Six months after that I had to have total knee replacement right knee.

I have well recovered and have cut down many more big trees since then, plus built a log cabin with my chain saws last summer. My knee is still a constant source of pain, however.

The moral is, be careful of trees and chain saws, very dangerous.

 

[twd000]

Unreasonable if you think it will save your dad's life?
I'd do it...and I have kids too. 99% of the time..the kids are no where near the road in a school zone.

It's a practical fallacy that speeding gets you there faster. Let's do some math. The longest school zone I've ever seen is less than a mile long, typically signed at 25 MPH, which would take the driver 144 seconds to traverse. At 100 MPH, it would take him 36 seconds, so he got his dad to the hospital 108 seconds (1.8 minutes) earlier. The article said he travelled a total of 24 miles to the hospital, so it took him 18 minutes if he averaged 80 MPH. I can guarantee there was no life-saving treatment administered at 18 minutes post-accident that couldn't be administered 19.8 minute post-accident. He's putting other people's safety at risk because speeding makes you "feel" like you're getting there faster.

 

[firefighterjake]

I'm not sure if the local ambulance carries it on board or not . . . but the ironic thing is a lot of ambulances here now carry trauma bandages infused with a clotting agent . . . just for this sort of thing (not to mention about having the training to use pressure points, tourniquets (when possible).

While I can understand the idea of not staying put and driving quickly . . . I would say this story would have been a whole lot different if there had been an accident on the way in resulting in an even longer delay and/or additional patients injured.

The one thing I discovered as I matured and learned from my past as a volunteer firefighter was that oftentimes while responding in my personal vehicle to the fire scene I was as apt to make it there while traveling at the speed limit (or slightly -- 5 mph over) without the use of red lights just a tad slower than the guy driving like a madman with red lights all-ablazing.