Fatality Alert
On September 11th, a faller was fatally injured when the snag he was falling broke up and struck him. The incident occurred in an area west of Campbell River.
Our condolences go out to the family and co-workers of the deceased. WorkSafeBC, the RCMP and the Coroners Service are investigating this incident.
This is the ninth direct forestry fatality of 2016 and the second manual tree falling fatality. The first faller fatality of the year also involved falling a snag that broke up and fell in an unexpected direction.
Although the details of this incident are still unknown, review the following safety information:
- Take the time to walk your quarter thoroughly. These daily site assessments will help identify and assess hazards like danger trees and falling difficulties. Make a plan early on how to deal with these hazards, solutions may take some time to implement (like machine assist or blasting).
- Avoid brushing standing timber when falling and always fall your danger trees progressively with your falling face. Even a small impact can be enough to send pieces of trees or branches down towards a faller.
- Have a reliable check-in system when falling trees and hold frequent drills to practice your Emergency Response Plan. It’s important to have a back-up emergency plan in case of bad weather or changes on site.
- Regular supervisor check-ins are important to assess the worker as well as to be another set of eyes to spot and help manage hazards on the site.
- When in doubt use qualified assistance for a second opinion.
- Always have a good escape route, with cover where possible. Do not take your eyes off of a falling tree.
