RX Felling Accident 2016

During mop-up operations on a prescribed fire slop-over on the Boston Mountain Ranger District a sawyer was struck by a portion of a felled snag. The sawyer had put in an open face-cut. When the sawyer applied the back-cut it went through the hinge wood. The tree rapidly began falling. It struck a green tree a few feet away, causing the snag to fold up in the middle and sent the top directly back at the stump.

The sawyer traveled approximately 7 feet down the escape route when they saw the top coming and put their arm up to be protected from its impact. The top one foot of the tree appeared to break over sawyer’s arm and fall to the ground. The rest of the snag skinned down the sawyer’s right bicep, impacting the sawyer’s lower ribs on the right side. This blow was forceful enough to knock the sawyer down and knocked the wind out of the sawyer, leaving contusions on the right forearm, right bicep, and right chest area.

 The sawyer was able to walk the fireline out and meet up with the work leader and an EMT on site. The EMT examined the affected areas and discussed the injuries with the sawyer. It was decided to monitor the sawyer during the rest of the work period for signs of trouble breathing or other injuries. No treatment was applied.

Chainsaws, Hand Crews, Falling Operation, RLS, Prescribed Fire, Hit by Tree