Working as a logger means long hours using dangerous machinery. You may be climbing to unprecedented heights to take the tops off trees or revving up a chainsaw for a particularly large stump. You might work with hands-on logging equipment on the ground or on a hillside. Whatever you’re doing, if you’re hurt at work, you should be entitled to through your employer’s ‘ plan.
Logging is a dangerous industry, and accidents do happen. Around 90 to 95 percent of all injuries are a result of people attempting to help each other. For example, loggers might be working with firefighters in an emergency situation. If they don’t understand the equipment being used, one team or the other could cause an accident.
Now, if both teams are trained together, then the risk of accidents can be lowered. The Forest Industry Safety and Training Alliance in Wisconsin took this step in 2016, bringing together firefighters and loggers to help them learn each other’s trades for safety purposes. The firefighters will be better trained to know what to do in an emergency at the scene of a logging accident, and loggers will be better trained in how to help or assist. They also need to learn how to tell emergency crews where to head, especially when they’re working in areas without addresses or specific streets nearby.
When a logging accident does happen, it most often leads to a severe injury or death due to the nature of the job. Large saws, heavy machines and other hazards make any accident high-risk. If you’re hurt on the job in this kind of situation, you’re not alone, and this kind of training can help emergency teams and your crew understand what to do in an emergency. It’s something your employer may want to look into to prevent further accidents requiring ‘ claims.
Source: Daily Tribune, “Firefighters, loggers team up for safety,” Karen Madden, Dec. 15, 2016
