Inspection Detail

Inspection: 123305328 - Allen Isabelle Products, Inc. Dba Tree Masters

Inspection Information - Office: Bridgeport Area Office

Investigation Summary

A tree care firm was clearing trees from a lot. The owner of the firm and an employee started working around 7:00 am. The employee was using a Stihl 066 Magnum chain saw to fell the trees, while the owner was operating an Ingersoll-Rand Bobcat to push the trees over and move the limbs, logs, and branches around the site. After lunch that day, they started felling three trees along a street on one side of the lot. A 6-millimeter-diameter guy connected to two utility poles ran through the trees. The guy was 6 meters above the ground. The owner and employee started felling the northernmost of the three trees first. They felled that tree without incident. After cutting up the first tree, the employee went to the next tree and made the undercut and back cut. At the same time, a sanitation worker, who was driving a Ford F350 sanitation truck with a 6.1-cubic-meter, open-top container mounted on the rear, stopped his truck on the road between the two utility poles. He was apparently waiting for the tree to fall. After the chain saw operator made the back cut, the owner used the Bobcat to push the tree over, and it landed in the lot in a westerly direction. The falling tree pulled the guy down with it. The guy, in turn, pulled the northernmost utility pole down. This pole supported a 240-volt overhead power line that ran to a third utility pole across the street. The falling pole pulled down the third pole. This pole, on which three transformers were mounted, fell across the street and landed on the cab of the sanitation truck. The tree firm owner and the chain saw operator ran over to the cab but did not touch the truck because of the electric shock hazard. The sanitation worker died of injuries sustained in the accident. (The original form incorrectly lists the sanitation worker as an employee of the tree care firm, but he was employed by P & G Sanitation.)

Keywords: TREE FELLING, CRUSHED, TREE, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT, LOGGING, UTILITY POLE