Abstract: Employee #1, of Sanitary Disposal, Inc., was operating a cardboard compactor/baler. He was removing some extraneous wire from inside the tie enclosure when his hand became entangled in the wire twisters in the bale tie mechanism. He was unable to remove his hand before the tie mechanism cycled, and three of his fingers were amputated. Employee #1 received first aid and was transported by ambulance to the local hospital and then to a larger hospital in Portland. Surgery to reattach his fingers was not successful. Employee #1 did not stop the machine prior to opening the tie enclosure nor did he activate the emergency STOP button on top of the enclosure.