It is with great sadness that the BC Forest Safety Council notifies the forestry community of a fatal incident that occurred on March 5th.

A faller was fatally injured while falling in the central coast region of the province. The exact cause of the incident is not yet known, however it appears that the falling activities caused a wind thrown tree with attached root wad to slide down a slope. It appears that a chunk from a nearby tree may have broken free and struck the faller as a result of the windfall sliding down the hill. An investigation is ongoing to gather more information and determine the exact cause of this incident.

There have been several serious falling incidents this year and two have taken the lives of fallers. This is the 4th forestry related fatality of 2012.

This incident should remind all fallers and other forestry workers of the hazards created by working around danger trees.

We recommend that all fallers, forestry workers and supervisors review their operations and take the necessary steps to prevent similar incidents. Below are some general guidelines relating to working around danger trees that can be used in this review:

• Practice situational awareness. This means taking the time to look around for unsafe or changing conditions and think about how those conditions could interact to put you in danger.
• Remove snags and danger trees when they are identified at your worksite.
• Look for alternate means of removing danger trees that are too risky to fall normally.
• If you don’t have access to an alternate means of removing danger trees, establish a no-work zone around them.

As more detail is made available, the Council will provide additional resources and information.