2nd most dangerous job

[jim king]

This just appeared on Yahoo news.

Logger

Courtesy of Roger Smith

Fatality Rate: 61.8 per 100,000

Median Wages: $34,440

Logging takes an annual toll like few other occupations. The biggest hazard, according to Roger Smith of RL Logging in Olympia, Wash., comes from logging mountain slopes.

"You're working steep terrain with 70-degree, 80-degree grades with rocks and sliding logs," he says.

About half the time, he's taking down 60- to 70-year-old trees with trunk diameters of 30 inches or more. If not felled correctly, these can go crashing down slopes, rolling over anyone in their paths.

"A lot of the time, what gets cutters is if they don't see something," Smith says. "Like trees growing together or snags."

The old forest canopies often have those snags, which are big dead branches that break off and can fall erratically when the tree comes down. Loggers call them "widow makers."

Even after the trees are cut, the job of loading them can be tough.

"Somebody just got killed here last Thursday," he says. "He was running a harvester and one of the teeth of the chain broke off and went right through the bulletproof glass window of his cab."


http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/110394/americas-10-most-dangerous-jobs

[tlandrum]

my family wishes id sell out and go back to building cabinets,mantels and curved stair cases instead of logging .but once its in your blood you just cant be happy elsewhere...

[sandhills]

must be the same as farming then, Dang, double whammy!  Not a logger or miller yet but very interested in getting the mill going, guess that puts me numbers 2 and 4 on the list!  Be careful folks!

[indiaxman1]

I try and remember that fact every time I start chainsaw (wear appropriate gear....occasional prayer helps)....any edge to reduce tradgedy...

[tlandrum]

one of the mills i haul to had a guy killed by a piece of lumber  that was picked up by the circle saw and had hit him in the forhead. they burried him today. prayers for there family

[woodbowl]

A few years back a local logger was killed in a Barco loader while loading logs when a hydraulic line on the boom blew. The end of the log came right into the cab.

[Randy88]

Its still a lot better than mining, theres no way anyone is getting me down undergroud before I'm dead for anything.  Can you imagine those miners that are trapped underground for as long as they have already been down there and it'll be a lot longer before they're out, I enjoy the sunshine too much for that kinda life.    We all need to be carefull and thankfull for what we do and the time we have to do it in and who we have around us everyday, no matter how bad things get lifes still pretty good when you can feel the sun and smell the fresh air and do what you love to do.

[sandhills]

Randy88, you're exactly right!  Prayers for those guys for sure.  Here in Nebraska we're not exactly in mining country to say the least so I can't imagine what they must be feeling now, I guess the only thing worse would be if you were stuck down there alone.  Prayers go out once again.

[Skiddah]

There's a lot that most of us can and do to minimize our risks out in the woods.  Proper training, good equipment maintenance, and taking the time to make sure you're doing everything safely goes a long way towards ensuring everyone will come home safely at night.  My family has worried about my safety at work for years, I'm sure most logging families do too.  I used to tell them I stood just as good a chance at getting greased by a car when walking across the road as I did catching a widow maker in the woods.  Now I tell them that I work hard to keep up on my training/certifications and make sure all of my equipment is in top working order. 
I call the public's perception of our trade the "Ax Men" syndrome.  Most of the general public's idea of what we do is based upon what they've seen on Ax Men, American Loggers, etc.  Of course they have a hard time differentiating between what was jazzed up for TV (the conflicts between crew members, close calls, etc), and what is common place in logging.  When the TV crew is out there filming, I'm sure the majority of their footage ends up cut onto the editing room floor.  The TV watching public wants to see danger, conflict, and the like.  They'd be bored watching logs getting loaded safely on the landing, the fellerbuncher laying wood down in a safe and efficient manner, and a hand cutter putting every tree exactly where he wanted it.  The writers and editors of these shows know these facts and they do the general public a massive disservice by exploiting those moments and treating them as common activities in the woods.

[Randy88]

My sediments exactly skiddah, the bull on tv makes a guys stomach turn and I quit watching that long ago.    Only the documentary's where they actually show how things were or actually are, interest me, the fantasy isiland kinda thing should be banned in my opinion, it does more harm than good to the logging industry and anyone who works in or careers related to the woods, logs, and/or lumber industry, the only good thing that could ever happen on the axmen series would be to drop a tree on the filming crew, IMO.

[woodbowl]

no matter how bad things get lifes still pretty good when you can feel the sun and smell the fresh air and do what you love to do.

That's good. Real Good!

[redlaker1]

mining isn't as bad as some people think,   I make my living 6000ft underground,  and I cut trees for fun.    when you come up to surface at the end of the day it makes you appreciate the sun and fresh air for sure.   
you have to make a living somehow,  and I guess when you grow up around mining it just seems normal.

I do feel for those poor guys in chile,   its a miracle that they found them alive,   but they have a long road ahead.   those guys should never have to work underground after that,   not sure if they would want to.

there are so many ways to get hurt in any heavy industry,  you just have to keep your eyes and ears open and be smart.   dont get yourself killed for a paycheque.

logging definitely has the scenery advantage tied up

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

Ive been reminded that it is thee second most  dangerous job all the time since i could walk Dad started taking me out the bush and to the family mill when i was 18 months old I always knew the rules to that too that i either had to stay on the landing near the ute or that if i did go into the bush i had to let people know where i am at, at all times  I was falling trees by the time i was 14 and thats only when i had gotten my own saw as dad had said he would only teach me hands on about falling when i had my own 

In production logging (with 2 or more people) the whole games about communication if you lack that your in a heap of trouble  from the get go

Ax Men Ive seen a few shows of the series on Tv here abit dramatized for my liking personally but a good show all round anyway where else are you going to see logging on mainstream tv  I dont mind the show but only fucusing on the near misses and bad operating practices by some of the contractors on the show like the bloke who fell the tree holding a hung up one in its crown after trying long butting he should have tried the knock out procedure where you fell consecutive trees across the hung tree to free it or snap the head out of it also how long dose it take someone to pickup reading comp and tension when docking logs they also work too closely in pairs when falling the min recomended distance here when fallers are working together is two tree lengths apart 

 

the one with j browning's son where about all we saw of him he was doing his block    there was abit of presure on him to preform (from who im not sure ) but piffing your helmet or chainsaw aint gonna help whatever problem you have to deal with at hand and coming of better gear on a big site you should still appreciate having a purpose built piece of equipment for the job no matter how old it is  ive operated 75 Massy's with the farmi winch on those sort of slopes in the 45 to 60 deg mark it just takes longer and you have to pay more att to what your doing but you can still pull a fair amount of wood out everyday    And it also took myself awhile to learn that doing your block aint gonna help  things too 

I was talking to my uncle at the saw shop about ax men and like we said to eachover if the followed a logging crew around in real time it would make for a pretty boring tv show and that its stupid for Our industry to allow itself to be portraed in that light any further its a hard job that takes alot of skill  to do properly

Ill also put one of my other beefs out there here while im at it too fellas Youtube should pull all the clips of Full on Idiots giving tree felling advice that dont have a bloody clue what they are doing for a start  it scares the s#$@ outa me to think people take advice from these people that can't even put a half decent looking scarf and level back cut in saying they are pro's 

Regards Chris

[StephenRice]

Okay, it is true that logging is a dangerous job.  But, as it was said, most of the time, the people never saw it coming or at least it was over quick, right?

However, Jim....  I saw this in your photo album... What the heck???!!!

This just had to bite the big one!  Oops... Did I say bite?  (I hope he was not one of your employees!  This is just horrible!)

[StephenRice]

What happened, Jim?  Looks like you got in a fight with a freight train.

[tycoon139977]

If thats the same outfit i think it is, its RL Smith Logging and they are out of Elma, WA same town im from. And the problem with the processers breaking the chain and coming into the cab, is it melts the bullet proof glass, i know someone that happened to.

[Ernie]

Jim, I followed your link to the 10 most dangerous jobs, I love fishing, number 1, I fell my own trees for milling, number 2 My main occupation is farming number 4 I've been repairing my roof number 5 and finally, I've built a heck of a lot of buildings on our bit of dirt number 10.  I'm almost 70 now , I hope I make it to my next birthday

If I don't, let it be known that I am one really happy chappy.

[ljmathias]

Ernie: If I hadn't read it under your name, I'd swear I wrote that although I'm only 62- still the same hope and comment: I've lived a full happy life which makes it all that much sweeter.  I want to see my kids secure (which may never happen given our downward economic spiral) and see my grandkids grow up and start life right, with my guidance of course, for whatever that's worth...   I saw a saying the other day- you may not get wiser as you get older but you do have to get older to get wiser. 

Lj

[Ernie]

  I saw a saying the other day- you may not get wiser as you get older but you do have to get older to get wiser. 

Lj

It's a real shame that youth is wasted on the young when we have the wisdom and experience to make a lot better use of it.

[JDeere]

The Germans have a saying, "you get too soon old and too late smart."