Incident Investigation: Bucked Tree Pivots, Killing Faller | WorkSafeBC

[@worksafebc]

Please note that in the Pacific Northwest, we commonly use the terms faller & falling rather than feller & felling, which are used in other regions. Visit our website for to learn more about health and safety in forestry: www.worksafebc.com/en/health-safety/industries/forestry

[@Wayoutthere]

Damn.. These animations are very chilling.. But thats a good thing actually.

[@tomjones4318]

These studies with illustrations and photos are very helpful for understanding the hidden dangers falling trees. I will remember this incident. Such a valuable resource. I'd suggest another area needing these case studies is farm tractors. So many people do not understand what can go wrong especially hobbyists.

[@stephenneeson5194]

Goes too prove even an experienced logger can have a lapse in concentration resulting in it costing him his life.very dangerous job,RIP Mate

[@Aranimda]

What I learned from WorkSafeBC: 1. Don't Be A Faller. 2. Don't Be Near A Faller. 3. Don't Fall.

[@chipfriday8166]

Well done. May your report save others and keep this sad loss of life from happening again.

[@alexpickard8561]

This is sad. My friends Grandpa died by being pinched. They couldn't get him out but he was alive and conscious. He laid there crushed and had someone write out a will for him and said his goodbyes to his team. Then they removed the tree and he immediately bled to death right there in front of his sobbing and grimacing team. He was a good man and this tragedy is something that deserves our thanks and thought, not endless "bucking" puns.

[@anon_148]

you could say your friend's grandfather got...buck broken

[@user-tr2dh4xx6u]

i guess he kicked the BUCKet

[@Steph6n]

​@@anon_148 immature especially after he says these puns are unnecessary

[@blacktimhoward4322]

Thank you for sharing this.

[@donmoore7785]

Wow. That is all I have to say. This channel does excellent productions. The largest tree I ever felled was a huge conifer in the Adirondacks right on the sloped bank of a flooded channel that was 3' deep. My greatest concern was the escape route. I could barely find stable footing with the water only a few inches away from the trunk. As the tree started to fall, I had not completed the back cut in an even manner, so the darned tree headed off 45 degrees from where I wanted and ended up across the 30 foot wide swiftly moving creek which was 6 feet deep. It took me several days and hours of chipping away at that trunk to buck it back to land. But I LIVED and escaped the area as that baby came down. Living to tell the story is the most important factor.

[@OmmerSyssel]

Another happy go lucky clown.. Next year you're qualified for teaching your proud son, how to use a chainsaw..? 🙄😴

[@royhoco5748]

no escape route would be all I need to not cut a tree

[@chrismcdonald6481]

Sorry about your loss Joce11202. When I set chokers in my younger years, my woods foreman told me a story of 2 loggers were hiding out of the wind, behind a windfall root and had built a fire to stay warm...At the end of the day, they were missing..A search crew went out looking for them when they didnt return...How they found them was a little smoke coming from under the windfall stump that rolled over on top of them crushing them both.

[@brianskinner2864]

I remember a felling job many years ago that I walked away from. It was way above my experience level. Later, I heard a man was hurt badly trying to do what I could not. . There are many things that can go wrong quickly with a saw in your hands. Noisy and rough, it is very skilled work.

[@steadfast4159]

Absolute shame in the loss of life of a hard working person. My prayers and thoughts go to the family of the faller. It is a stark reminder of just how deadly trees can be and why fallers get decent money to remove trees and limbs. Thank you for posting this. I will send this along to a friend of mine who removes trees.

[@VinnyMartello]

Wow, Ive had some bad near misses with trees. But this is unique. I’m glad to have learned from this safety video.

[@fredkeele6578]

Not a logger, but had prior chainsaw experience. A number of years ago, I had to cut trees down for outside furnace. I had several close calls before i binged on professional how to videos. How to's and procedures for different scenarios. The one that got me researching was a leaning oak, that barber chaired. When it gave way, it slammed to the ground, and blasted a 5' slab backwards. I had cut regular with notch, but made too deep, and finished with cut from back, instead of plunge cutting it. Could have been seriously hurt or worse several ways.

[@yuvgotubekidding]

Never take your experience and skills for granted. Always prepare properly.

[@JacksonAxe]

As a logger with 25 years experience I can say this is why forestry is statistically 2nd only to fishing as the most dangerous work on earth. If you make 1 human error it could cost you your life, sometimes instantly. The guy was probably plenty experienced, he just didn't check well enough before he cut, and or, made a bad judgement. Human error. Tragedy.

[@VinnyMartello]

Trees don’t care about your feelings. I’ve had some weird stuff happen on the job but this is just awful.

[@keithclark486]

Ax men and world's deadliest catch.

[@marscoriad213]

What about Sat diving though?

[@davidbuben3262]

@@marscoriad213 you can have the honor. We loggers didn't want anyone to know. Knew that they would take it away from us. They finally figured it out. Now it's gone. Hope you all enjoy the price of a sheet of plywood now. Over regulations are killing us all.

[@04warrick04]

Hahahah don’t make me laugh second most dangerous work on earth. Ever heard of the army twat.

[@Crawlerjamie]

I feel bad for Barb having to investigate all these

[@scottwallace3900]

I have work a few years in this field and the amount of out and out mentally unstable guys I've came across is amazing they just don't see or care there fucking mad some of them .

[@OmmerSyssel]

Sounds like some of those fishermen and sailors I've had to deal with ...

[@davidhoover8877]

Thank you for the information and graphic animation its tragic what happened here but what is more tragic are those who leave rude and often violent comments. Do they not live in a house made of wood? Do they not have wood furniture? Do you have a power pole made of plastic? Those who are hunters and get mad at loggers are your rifles all made of a composite material? Please take your tasteless comments to another post so others may learn from tragic events so they don't happen again.

[@edpottinger849]

The force of timber when its cut either by a power saw or even in the sawmills when the wood goes through the band saws is under extreme pressure.

[@mysterioussquirrel4456]

Hindsight is a great thing. I notice she suggested a helicopter could have been used. I can imagine the boss agreeing to pay for and use a helicopter.

[@mysterioussquirrel4456]

***** In normal practice moron. In normal practice.

[@mysterioussquirrel4456]

***** Listen you idiot. In the perfect world in which you live and the makers of the video, I'm sure a brand new shiny helicopter was hovering nearby. However, in the real world, where the rest of us live... What a sad and sorry pleb you are.

[@joebessette6565]

Should've choppered it to a better bucking area for buck sakes!

[@Yalldidsay]

I think this is the 1st time I've replied to a three-year-old post but just wanted you to know Mr. Squirrel, I understood your sarcasm. 😉

[@lexluther919]

this is why you need to understand physics

[@OmmerSyssel]

Utter nonsense, you don't become a qualified feller watching KZbin accident investigations or knowledge about physics! There's chainsaw courses for obvious reasons! Stay safe ✌🏻

[@ilililhy1]

There has been so so many people over the years die while cutting all kinds of trees down from homeowners to pros.

[@Johnrider1234]

I have dropped a thousand trees in my life. I always look at it 20 different ways

[@Wulfjager]

most of these situations are obvious to me. i legitimately didnt see anything the faller did wrong in this one until it happened in the animation. tree cutting is terrifying to me, one small mistake and youre dead

[@Steph6n]

Don't start the work unless it can be done safely. Words to live by.

[@himhim3344]

Bet it went something like this: "Go on brushie, get up there and buck that log."

[@murphy4trees]

Its so important to be able to visualize what is going to happen when you make a cut. Perhaps he could have cut at the pivot point, which would have let both pieces fall down and away... Those are tough working conditions.... stay alive brothers!

[@dennbb]

I've seen this video. I contracted with the BC Ministry teaching the faller.\chainsaw certification course. the last few years before I retired. The mistake was assuming the root was solid, especially since the tree had fallen over. I've studied all the options. Cutting it at the pivot point might have created another pivot point, and still no escape route. There was no safe way to get this tree down.

[@murphy4trees]

dennbb especially if it wasn't clear how the root ball "wanted" to move.. I've been using a lot of snap cuts and then tripping them remotely with a machine or pull line on a machine.. It works very well and allows the faller to be completely clear of an area before anything moves.. . Not much of an option in the woods, though there may have been other options

[@AVportau]

+dennbb would you agree it could be done with risk minimisation? it's never going to be safe on this angle. i'd be assessing the root ball and it's surrounds and looking down the trunk to see possible paths depending on where cut, maybe cut a few bigger roots (from above and side, not below obviously) to see if it would give and slide coz it won't move quick like a split, maybe a twang if we're lucky so i'd still be careful to place any cuts with root spring in mind. the pivot tree was pretty obvious. cutting where he did was not only the worst pressure point it was also unsafe surrounds. sad somebody died here but i don't know any of us mountain guys and loggers we know who would pick that ledge for the cut. we'd call that a 'hail mary' and about as dangerous as messing with any widowmaker. . it's a tough one that should have been repositioned with the heli but where i lived in the mountain forest we commonly had to clear roads (logger mountain tracks more like it) of huge gums and hardwoods that fell in all directions and hung up all sorts of ways over near sheer drops so real fun (not) and dangerous as all hell. some had been standing dead for 100s of years and so tough it took a few tanks of fuel and sharpening the chain, but makes brilliant firewood like coal. we had very little heavy stuff, just a tractor. occasionally we'd have to get a loggers help to either blast or snig a tree out the was just to dangerous for anything else. one day we heard a tree fall close to the home and a huge gum had fallen uphill and was supported by a few other trees but threatening to fall the main support tree onto the home. very steep too like this with soft volcanic soil that can let go so the main support tree was our real concern and had to be saved asap. we repositioned the fallen tree by snipping roots till it rolled a little to our preferred side and dropped the canopy out of the supporting tree... all worked out fine but i'd say there was probably an hour of assessment and sharing our views on it before we even started a chainsaw coz these things are risky as it get in the mountains. i've seen 150ft trees shatter at the hinge wood because the wind come up before the back cut was finished... like 12ft splinters and a massive tree that fell 30 - 40 degrees to where it was meant to go. no fault of the operator, just a freak gust in the canopy was enough. those big ones shake the ground like an earthquake and it's humbling to feel the mighty giants land. always best to make sure we get to go home at the end of the day too... and what about lightning in the mountains?... 2 of us had our hair standing up and seemed static from a close strike. like here we are both checking out our arms and hair on each other as it sticks out ha ha... blinding flash with instant crack that scared the life out of us and the noise from the strike was ear splitting so lucky we had helmet shields with ear muffs on and fully insulated boots... felt nothing but static, deafening even with muffs, but the flash was intense with no sunglasses... it's a dangerous place sometimes.

[@johncware66]

Good stories. You should write a book.

[@jonproctor3739]

Once did a fairly large Windfall Salvage Job in Gordon River Division during my 16+ yrs as a Pacific Coast Forestry Worker. Can recall some of the Hemlock still attached to their Root Pads & under tension were easily 3 to 4 feet in diameter & many of the butts were 8, 10 even 12 feet off the ground where I had to cut them. Can't even begin to total up just how many trees I cut down through the yrs, but I do know this. Bucking those Windfalls put the fear of God into me in a manner that no Falling Job had ever done ...and never did thereafter.

[@depstar456]

God bless his soul may others be safe from learning how he lost his life.

[@chucks2018]

It seems like a tree in this position could move a lot faster than a normal tree falling. Even if there was an escape route, it seems like the tree moved too fast to use it.

[@user-tr2dh4xx6u]

thats what i was thinking. depending on the pivot length on either side the tree could have instantly crushed him to the point he couldnt escape even if he knew it was coming beforehand

[@stevenrudd8087]

so many people do not understand how dangerous it is.

[@RichRich1955]

It's hard to imagine a riskier situation.

[@guybrooks3480]

Unfortunately ,to alot of bosses , WE ARE ALL EXPENDIBLE ! Condolences to his friends and family .

[@michaelfitzgerald3467]

I watch these videos and thank God I never got hurt doing the little bit of cutting I did.

[@veng3r663]

Sounds more like the company thought it was TOO expensive to send a helicopter in on that one job...

[@lashlarue7924]

I was about to say, what's the chances that this guy would have been put on the sh*tlist for having called in a freakin' helicopter. I bet you nobody would ever actually do that on the job because nobody wants to be that guy.

[@Kriegerdammerung]

I would have died in the same manner. Thanks for Miss Barb!

[@JamesParus]

I think it could be possible to generate easy way to calculate the danger level. let's say 0-5 where the 5 is the most dangerous. 1 point for deep decent area. 1 point for windfall, 1 point for bind tree, 1 point for dangerous cutting area. 1 point for unstable root. . another points for rotten tree and such. 1 point for very big tree. So if the area is flat, small healthy three, good area, 0 points. Actually lets say 1, because any any tree fall is at least danger 1

[@OmmerSyssel]

It's not about level of danger. It's choosing the right solution!

[@lornemarmet5898]

Thank you, Barb.

[@Delticola]

You have some very valid points, but an old growth forest is also teaming with life. There might be some old growth forests that don't support large populations of grazing animals like elk and deer. But who's to say that's the most important life in the forest? Timber is a renewable resource. It would be nice if selective logging would be practiced more where some of the old growth trees were allowed to remain "old."

[@Barnabas555]

its like an archers bow u need to release the energy... the energy got received by the cutter

[@jimstrickland5358]

thanks for sharing.. Situations and forces are always different.. Training can only get you to think and understand. Please help us to evaluate and forsee the present danger, amen RIP

[@superwiseman452]

That was a nasty accident. It wasn't obvious what was going to happen cutting that trunk. But that's the lesson here: never stop thinking and assessing risk. The minute you do, is the day you might die.

[@RichRich1955]

As a previous climber the solution I'd come to would be 2 opposing vertical cuts space several feet apart but would be done while hanging from above the tree. A winch would then break the tree by splitting. I'm not sure if a helicopter could lift that tree. It was probably wedged and immobile.

[@duanereising3026]

Yeah, I almost suffered great head injury at a tree - ( Forestry svc) when they started switching people around in position and had a horticultural grad operating hydraulics on a truck used for transporting plants and bushes and such...he lowered the sky hook and nails me right in the head...this was while I had already clocked out from crane job on huge sycamore tree in August!!... needless to say...I clocked out and went home and never returned!!...

[@reclaimedtrashcollection1098]

Having experience helps or watching someone with experience and asking questions helps too. Lucky there aren't a lot of large trees in Florida. Trees can do some crazy things even when they are just laying on the ground. Be safe people!

[@agent9809]

tragic.

[@youngeshmoney]

Today I learned about bucking trees

[@MrCombatmedic00]

It seems like an understanding of physics is involved here

[@johnnywishbone932]

That pivot was the first thing I thought of.

[@vero0992]

Yikes. It seems like a challenge to maintain the perspective to see all possible dangers when felling a tree.

[@maestrovso]

Next time someone tells me I have a windfall, I am not going to jump up in joy.

[@WMAT77LL]

Thanks for sharing...

[@michaelpcooksey5096]

Again and again I see 'explosives' as an option. BUT what are the circumstances where they have been used in the past, and how much actual time does it take to complete the procedure?

[@Roddy556]

On the video they said fallers were paid by the hectare and would have to arrange for blasting on their own time so workers were reluctant to use explosives.

[@chrismcdonald6481]

Its kind of hard to wipe your ass with a spotted owl

[@adelarsen9776]

Accidents don't just happen by accident. Safety is everyone's responsibility. If you see something say something.

[@briankleinschmidt3664]

What would say to me, "Do not buck?" How about, "I have a freaking chopper." For cryin' out loud.

[@ColinTonkasdad]

very sad, not a good way to meet your maker. thanks for sharing .

[@gookskywalker]

I'm no professional by no means but have fell many trees AND I wasn't in the situation but a tree wedged between two others has always got pressure against the tree being cut here.You can't always see the direction the trunk will swing to.Sad

[@jennywebb1141]

There are no experts in this field years of expierence will never prepare you for that i day that things go wrong and as daniel said you need to have a picture in your mind as to what may happen at each point during felling When it comes to preventing things happening the unexpected can happen in a split second i still am horrified when i see some guys falling how they are still here alive..I have had the misfortune of attending funerals over the years of good men good fallers. The most disappointing thing i see to often is training is dollar driven it takes a long time to teach someone everything they need to know to stay alive and in Australia they attend a course and a week later they have a licence to kill unfortuneatly it is them that are killed quite often the myth is that you can gain 25 years expierence in 5 days reality is that our worksafe senior staff actually believe that people can gain all that knowledge in that short time and do the job the same as someone with 20 years under their belt.I believe they should have ongoing training for years not days.Remember the $$$$$$ So sad to see lives lost i just am so happy that people are doing as i do passing the knowledge on to those who need it. ather than taking a life time of expierence to the grave share it you may just save somenone with 3 children and a wife from dying. I have rambled on enough to everyone so this is just a comment from a bloke on his wifes computer that believe good people save good people Cheers

[@r.b.4611]

Yeah an athlete learns technique for years, a worker attends a week course. NO WAY the results are just as good as each other.

[@Tangobaldy]

Is this an electronic voice?

[@pauljordan4452]

No, it's the inspector's voice.

[@marianatequiero28]

Dam , how experienced was he , pinched between trees no way ,woulda gone to the root ball

[@MrTripcore]

How is this work not done by remote by now

[@Doglover123-b8d]

@augdog1230 Really man? You had to put such a chessy ass comment out there that you heard from a movie at the expense of someone's death?!? Think if that was your son or dad! People can be so fucking cold sometimes. (and I usually never comment but this one pissed me off!)

[@mycastle8498]

Where did she come from?

[@danr5105]

Do we know if the buckers intention was for the piece that pinned him to either stay still or roll the other direction or go straight up. I wonder what made him so sure it would not fall back and pin him like it did?Sad that no one else said "wait a minute here what if"

[@09rja]

That situation might have fooled me too. Real tricky. (And by the way, I am a structural engineer who cuts his own firewood on the side.)

[@jasonoverman9679]

Where I come from we call those widow makers and for good reason.

[@ExcavationNation]

I'm sorry for you for loosing your life :( I hope your ok now💕

[@Thebowzer221]

This man was killed in his line of work. Very dangerous, tough job. RIP. Viet Vet.

[@PInk77W1]

You have to know where the pressure is. Start at either end would’ve been better. Use a Stihl power poll would’ve been better Stand on top would’ve been better

[@peace8946]

Wait, she did say "buck"... Right?

[@jimhofoss9982]

fallers mistake not calculating the mechanics of the windfall wedged between standing timber. Not practical to use a helicopter or explosives. just a grave mistake by the faller. he could have removed the roots first, without putting himself in a hazardous position. Any wedged windfall requires careful analysis before starting the saw.

[@austinbrad91]

this jest happened when my dad was working. he watched his friend get crushed by a big old growth

[@martinmoffitt4702]

but unfortunately this continues to happen...it's up to the individual to size it up and say NO if need be..

[@Tangobaldy]

Bucking assesment

[@AirCrash1]

You should need a mechanical engineering qualification to fell trees. I used to own a farm and tree felling is by far the most dangerous activity. None of these current rules and regs are a safe substitute for knowing basic mechanics.

[@danfrakes7346]

What would I say if I looked at the tree? Don’t buck the tree cos I’m a bus driver

[@davidbuben3262]

You bet. We also had to walk across canyons 60 feet or more above the ground. I guess ya'll think it's cost effective to suspend safety harnesses from a helicopter so we can get 4 or 5 guys from point A to point B? You safety people live in an alternative universe.

[@benheatherkrieger79]

Damn!...Just DAMN!

[@fred6059]

My uncle is a lumberjack. Sliced his leg in half a with chain saw.

[@shadowascelin1926]

My grand uncle sliced his knee in half by a chainsaw

[@PInk77W1]

if he would of stood two feet to the right when making the cut and extending his arms out as far as possible to the left, he would of been safe.

[@abaker2921]

Or cut the roots off first

[@CMAenergy]

Why did he not cut the root ball off first and/or put a block between the tree an the rock face to stop it from kicking back, There should have been much more thought an consideration to cut this type of tree, An he should have realized this could happen an made the cut on the left side of himself an the tree would never have hit him. Or tied the root ball up with cables an winch to hold it before cutting, an made sure he still cut on his left side, It is easy to see the problems after the fact, Very unfortunate this happened.

[@trains11111]

You could buck the tree with out blasting or the helicopter but the lack of an escape route is a problem. The bull-buck should had tree two cut first to release the bind and then go and buck the log. But he bucked in the wrong place going by what I see in the photos he should of turned 90 to the way the rock face above the hanger and so the route wad will drop and if it pivots it will move up and away and the long log side will roll off the edge. you will be standing on the side of the long log when you cut.

[@seanrichardson4210]

Thought the same thing, couldn't he bucked it at the stump,?

[@wolfsdenenterprisesllc9539]

"Gravity, a constant hazard when falling..." ... Ummm... DUHHHHH, that's why we call it Rapid Deceleration Syndrome, that sudden stop at the end is what gets ya!

[@aldean6333]

Yep a investigator with hind site . There are all kinds of variations that a faller deals with and no safety gal has a clue accept to assess after the fact

[@donmoore7785]

Um, they absolutely did have a clue and this video is very helpful to people with open minds.

[@michaelgarrow3239]

God bless.

[@pbunyon2002]

The Forest Service calls it falling. In all your ignorance have you not ever heard of a person "falling" in the context of dying? Have you not thought that simply killing tree might not make it fall? Just how much do you know about timber or, for that matter, anything else?

[@formidable38]

I don't think 'entertainment' was at the forefront of their minds when they put together this video somehow.

[@eprofessio]

Rest in Peace.

[@MrThenry1988]

That's a bad deal. Wow.

[@isaacedmondson4579]

R.I.P.

[@BucketListBadass]

Got here by accident and learned a thing or 2

[@obfuscated3090]

A worker with an explosive handler license (not sure what those are called in Canada) could use charges like combat engineers use for route clearance to safely destroy dangerous trees from a distance. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqjOcoF3g7Geosk People fear explosives too much and trees too little.

[@bonsummers2657]

Does this person (the woman) saw cut trees?

[@jefferyschirm4103]

How much wood would a woodcuck wood if a woodchuck would chuck wood.

[@AtheistOnTheEdge]

Damn, physics is a bitch!

[@bloodandsnatters]

R.I.P.

[@NoName-db5tc]

so sorry.sad

[@Anglovox]

Physics can be a bitch...hmm