Climbers death - kick back.

[Fredward]

This is a a tragic and needless death. I have got a little slack recently with the odd cut but I climbed for nearly 10 years without one handing. Yes that is right. Without one handing. A step cut is not hard, you don’t need to cut and hold. A friend from college died just three months out of college at 21 and it really affected me. You just don’t need to one hand at all. I think it is a cultural thing. Every one rushing to get the job done to squeeze some money out of a cheap quote. Why? Do you often see other trades rushing about like a lot of us do? When will we all learn?! I for one am going to go back to not one handing at all. It is easily possible. Not even hard to do.

I said something similar on another thread (think it was after the Reg Coates one handing video), I got shot down big time. My training massively deterred me from one handing. People who I trained with at the same time, have gone on to companies and one handing is just how they do it now. Luckily I've always been self employed/subbing for decent people who never expected or encouraged me to do it. I've only been climbing around 5 years but probably would say I've one handed around ten times or so, when I really thought it was safer (not easier). I just can't think of a good reason to make this line of work any more dangerous than it is. I certainly don't want to put someone in the position of the boss/rescuer in the article.

[Katie at FoxMedics]

Really very sad indeed. I think it can be very easy to forget that you lot are not only climbing but also using machinary, even on low level the work you do is dangerous. 

There was a guy several years ago who cut through his neck, the cut was perhaps very different to the story above, but his life was saved due to his colleagues applying first aid. Again I am not knocking what was done for the tragic circumstance above as the whole situation must have been horrendous and I am sure they did everything they probably could.

Please do consider completing an Arborist Specific First Aid course. No two medical incidents will ever be the same. My 11 years working for the ambulance service can vouch for that. 

Please contact me if you are interested in an Arborist Specific First Aid course. 

[email protected]. Thank you

[Stephen Blair]

RIP Greg!

[arbogrunt]

https://www.frjonesandson.co.uk/products/sip-chainsaw-protection-sleeve/

 

[sime42]

Cheers mate. These don't seem to offer chainsaw protection so not quite what I was seeking. Though as someone else pointed out if they did then they would be far too hot and bulky and constrictive anyway. Ok if you work somewhere like northern Norway but otherwise not really practical.
Thinking about it;- it's far safer to be committed to safe work positioning and completely avoiding single handing or at least minimising the practice. Rather than trying to protect yourself from accidents that can potentially arise from back working practices. Its easy for me to say this, far harder to stick to all the time! I'm guilty of single handing sometimes, due to time pressures or just plain laziness. [emoji21]

[Joe Newton]

Really very sad indeed. I think it can be very easy to forget that you lot are not only climbing but also using machinary, even on low level the work you do is dangerous. 
There was a guy several years ago who cut through his neck, the cut was perhaps very different to the story above, but his life was saved due to his colleagues applying first aid. Again I am not knocking what was done for the tragic circumstance above as the whole situation must have been horrendous and I am sure they did everything they probably could.
Please do consider completing an Arborist Specific First Aid course. No two medical incidents will ever be the same. My 11 years working for the ambulance service can vouch for that. 
Please contact me if you are interested in an Arborist Specific First Aid course. 
[email protected]. Thank you

Katie, whilst good first aid training is vital, is simply not the issue here. A fatally injured climber at 50' has a far better chance of self rescue that waiting for a climber to reach then and administer inadequate first aid at height.

Have you tried applying a pressure bandage at height with one hand?

[treeman]

This is true joe, as we found out on the last recci climb, trying to apply a dressing with one hand is difficult sat on the floor let alone 50 foot up with blood everywhere and adrenaline pumping though you

[Joe Newton]

This is true joe, as we found out on the last recci climb, trying to apply a dressing with one hand is difficult sat on the floor let alone 50 foot up with blood everywhere and adrenaline pumping though you

Of course it's true, do I regularly talk bollocks?

The point is that inadequate first aid training wasn't the issue here. I really feel for the poor blokes family, but it was operator error, as the inquest found. It's something that we can all learn from, no matter what level of experience.

[treeman]

Umm yes you do............. with a little fact thrown in once in a while

[Joe Newton]

Umm yes you do............. with a little fact thrown in once in a while

[emoji3]