EXTENSION REPORT

Auburn Invites Leading Chainsaw Safety Trainer to Alabama

            Rip Tompkins, veteran arborist and a nationally recognized chainsaw safety trainer, spent one week in Alabama training over 180 municipal and professional tree care personnel from over 15 statewide communities.  The seminars and hands-on workshops trained municipal and professional crew not only on chainsaw safety but on ways to improve their cutting and felling techniques.

            Chainsaw injuries are among the most frequent sights in emergency rooms following a severe storm. Small wonder why, says Dr. Mathew Smidt, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System forest safety specialist and Auburn University assistant professor of forestry.  “The chainsaw is the most dangerous hand tool,” Smidt says. “Using a chainsaw incorrectly not only can lead to severe injury but even death in some cases.  Most loggers, in fact, avoid chainsaw use because of the inherent risk of injury.  Responding to requests from municipal arborists Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Auburn University provided a series of chainsaw safety seminars to train and refresh municipal and professional chainsaw operators.  The course was funded by the Hurricane Ivan Financial Assistance Program, a Federal grant aimed at helping Alabama communities recuperate in the aftermath of Hurricanes.  The grant funded four seminars, two hosted by the City of Daphne and two by Jefferson State College in Birmingham, Alabama.                                                                                                                                          In the aftermath of storms and especially hurricanes, municipal crews are on the front lines clearing roadways. During major storm events, the workload is often shared by city departments and employees with limited chainsaw experience.  “It’s essential that our city crews learn the latest OSHA chainsaw safety regulations” said Marshall Parsons, the City of Daphne Horticulturalist.  “We run into some scary situations, ” said one municipal employee attending the safety seminars last week in Daphne, Alabama, “these seminars really provide some important information we need to know to work safer”.                                         

            Following storms, municipal employees and professional tree companies are directly involved in removing dangerous and damaged trees.  Storms often twist, break, bend, and uproot large trees creating some extremely dangerous cutting situations.  Rip Tompkins’s course covered various scenarios professional chainsaw operators may encounter and provided techniques for dealing with these dangerous cutting situations. 

            Additionally, Rip reinforced the dangers of operating chainsaws and provided the latest techniques for safer work practices. One of the common hazards discussed and demonstrated during the course associated with chainsaw use involves kick back, when the upper corner end of a running saw bar contacts an object. “The reactive forces will violently push the saw up to the upper body or down onto the legs or feet,” Smidt says. “At wide open throttle, the skin can be exposed to hundreds of cutter teeth in less than a second.  The force of the chainsaw can easily cut through the heaviest work pants and leather boots.

            Other common hazards attendees learned include wood compression and tension.  Storm damaged trees are often twisted, broken or leaning on trees, buildings or fences.   “This can result in tremendous forces of bending and stretching --- compression and tension --- in the wood,” Smidt says.   Many amateur chainsaw operators often have a hard time discerning this compression and tension in trees. “Compression may cause the saw to become bound in the cut,” Smidt says. “Tension wood, on the other hand, can be very dangerous by propelling the saw from your hands or portions of the tree at you or bystanders.

            In addition, root systems attached to leaning or toppled trees may try to stand back up once the trunk has been cut free.  Dealing with these sorts of challenges shouldn’t be entrusted to amateurs, Smidt says.  “Most people aren’t aware that it takes a great deal of training and experience to understand how to release the forces in the woods safely,” he says. 

            As an added precaution, don’t attempt to cut trees or branches in contact with power lines.  Also, watch for signs of fatigue.   “It’s common to exceed your normal workload during a storm cleanup,” Smidt says. “When you’re fatigued you make poor decisions, take greater risks to get the job done faster and operate with slower reaction time --- all of which increase the chances of injury.”

            As further safeguards, Rip Tompkins recommends wearing personal protective equipment: a hard hat; safety glasses; ear muffs or plugs; chainsaw chaps; and safety boots.  As Rip told seminar attendees, “if you don’t have anything worth protecting, don’t worry about it”.  Also, read and master the owner’s manual, and make sure your saw works properly and is equipped with all of the safety features, especially the chain brake (chain brake works much like parking brakes by not allowing the chain to turn even if the throttle is pressed).  Rip explained to attendees, if you take more than two steps or take one hand off the chainsaw, engage your chain brake.

            Equally important, don’t attempt to do anything beyond your skill level; know when you need to contact a Certified Arborist.  Rip also stresses the importance of analyzing all potential hazards carefully before cutting --- identifying tree lean, comprehension and tension of downed trees, dead and broken limbs overhead, vines connecting trees and poor footing.   Finally, don’t use a chainsaw above shoulder height.

            For more information visit the following Web sites on chainsaw safety, visit the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Publication on chainsaw safety at: . 

Other sites include: Safety Guidelines for Chainsaw Operators at and a Spanish-language version at

Email address: brodbam@auburn.edu
Phone: 937-7176 or 943-5611, ext. 2222

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work in agriculture and home economics, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, and other related acts, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University) offers educational programs, materials, and equal opportunity employment to all people without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.