Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1497312.015 - Aaa Tree Service Llc

Inspection Information - Office: American Canyon District Office

Investigation Summary

At 10:15 a.m. on October 12, 2020, an employee working as a foreman for a tree service was working at a rural site located at GPS coordinates 38.497504, -122.612897. The site was a temporary worksite for the company, which is a subcontractor of the general contractor for the site. The site is owned by a gas and electric company and the goal of the project was to stabilize areas near high voltage transmission lines affected by a recent wildfire incident. The tree service has been in business for 32 years and the crew was engaged in the removal of burned trees in the area. The employee was working as the feller for the felling crew. The employee was using a STIHL MS 461 chainsaw with a 36-inch bar. Coworker #1 (a groundsman) was operating a come-along to put tension on a tree to control the direction of fall. Coworker #2, a backup climber, was positioned about 30 feet to the left of the employee as an observer. When the employee felled the tree, he proceeded up the slope in the pre-determined escape route. As the tree fell, the trunk of another tree about 10 feet from the fall path of first tree snapped at approximately 22 feet above the ground and the top portion fell back toward the employee striking him in the mid torso and head. Coworker #1 and Coworker #2 administered first aid and called emergency medical services (EMS). The injured worker was transferred to a medical evacuation helicopter and flown to a local hospital, where he was admitted to treat broken ribs, lacerations to the bridge of his nose and back of his head, a punctured lung and a concussion.

Keywords: Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Broken Bone, Chain Saw, Chest, Concussion, Cutting, Drop Zone, Falling Object, Flying Object, Fracture, Head, Laceration, Lodged Tree, Lung, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Nose, Puncture Wound, Rib, Struck By, Tree, Tree Felling, Unsafe Position, Vegetation