UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on December 16, 2009, Employee #1 was using a Husqvarna 359 chain saw with a 20-inch bar to fell an elm tree. The tree was 12 inches in diameter and approximately 60 feet in height. It was severely bent with the top 30 feet of tree underneath a pile of trees that had previously been felled. A coworker, sitting on a skidder less than two tree lengths away, saw Employee #1 fell the elm and heard a pop. The butt of the tree struck Employee #1 in the back shoulder area, pushing him fiercely to the ground and pinning him. The coworker found him laying face down on his idling chainsaw. The coworker was able to move the fallen tree enough to get Employee #1 out from under the tree. The coworker retrieved the owner of the company, who arrived and found that Employee #1 had no pulse. Emergency medical services were contacted, but Employee #1 was dead. He was not wearing a hard hat, face protection, hearing protection, or chaps, though the equipment was on the job and available to him. This was a danger tree that should not have been cut prior to consulting with the owner. No notch was used when felling the tree.