Accident Case

EVERGREEN LOGGING & CO

458973 Pine Rd., Greenleaf, TN 65321

Accident Summary

The four man crew of Gary Wright, Bruce Douglas, Jerry Todd, and Ian Michaels received approval from Supervisor Lee Wise to enter the worksite early May 5, 2011 due to lost hours from weather. It was known by all that the deadline for completion was fast approaching (May 21, 2011) and they were way behind schedule.

The weather at the job site had shown to be troublesome. The terrain was a collection of hillsides just beside the mountains. It had been raining for the last three days and caused the crew not to work. Since the rain had stopped on May 5, 2011, the crew was eager to make up for lost time.

There was a heavy fog that set in that morning. But the crew was determined to get things started. Team leader Gary Wright contacted their supervisor, Lee Wise, around 4 a.m. and asked for permission to enter the worksite and begin working by 5:30 a.m. Sup. Lee Wise gave immediate approval and informed Gary that he wouldn't be there until 7 a.m. because he had some paperwork and supplies to pick up.

The crew drove together to the work site. They arrived at 5:20 a.m. By 5:45 a.m. the generator had been started, work lights warmed up and turned on, and equipment was started. Gary, the team leader ran the yarder. The yarder pulls the logs cut down by the crew downhill uphill to be loaded on a truck. Bruce said Gary was eager to make up time and said he would do whatever it took to clear the specific area out. By 6 a.m. Bruce and Jerry were downhill ready to help navigate Gary via radio-communication. They would also strap the winch cable around the log(s) to be pulled up. Ian operated the loader uphill. The loader loaded the logs onto a truck for removal from site.

Around 6:30 a.m. Bruce and Jerry strapped the winch cable to a rather large tree with a diameter of around 32 inches and around 40 ft. tall. The downhill crew radioed Gary to inform him of the massive size of this log (tree). Gary said "I am the man" and said it wouldn't be a problem. Gary began to pull and winch the log up. The downhill crew said the hillside was still a pretty rough terrain and difficult to navigate large logs through, let alone walk without falling. Gary was pulling the log uphill when it seemed to come to a complete stop. The massive log was caught on seeding trees. The seeding trees weren't that big in size so Gary figured a few more good tugs would be enough to pull the log over them. The crew downhill could hear the winding of the winch. This means there is too much force being exerted on the winch. They advised Gary that they should either cut the seeding trees down or release the log and try a different path. Bruce said Gary told him and Jerry to back away from the log and cables incase the cable failed but said "I am bringing in this log now!" Bruce and Jerry backed away as their team leader had asked them to. They no longer had a clear vision of the path for the log. Essentially, Gary was operating on his own rather than a team at this point. Just a minute or two later Bruce and Jerry said they heard a loud snap and as they walked uphill to help fix the cable seen a fire.

The winch cable failed. When it snapped it flew back and made contact with the generator. The generator immediately burst into flames. Electricity also traveled from the generator through the winch cables to the yarder, electrocuting Gary.

While Bruce and Jerry tried to manage the fire Ian quickly called 911 and their supervisor Lee. After Ian got off the phone with their supervisor he assessed the situation to determine if he could get Gary out of the yarder safely. He was unable to determine without question that he could safely remove Gary.

The fire department and EMS arrived on scene by 6:50 a.m. They safely removed Gary from the yarder. Chief Thomas of the Fire Dept./EMS reported to crew that Gary suffered immediate cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at the scene. Others of the fire department handled the generator fire and put it out.

Supervisor Lee Wise arrived on scene around 7 a.m. He was given the same information regarding Gary by Chief Thomas. Lee immediately called Gary's family to inform them of the accident. He also told them the area was under investigation and to go to Greenleaf Regional to see Gary. He informed them he would be in touch with details and information soon.

The fire department determined that the side panels of the generator were not closed after starting it that morning. Sup. Lee was told by Bruce and Jerry the information regarding the log and how the winch cable snapped. The EMS also told Sup. Lee that Gary did not have his rubberized work gloves on and that his hands were in direct contact with the metal of the yarder. It was also determined that the heavy fog increased opportunity for electrical hazards and the speed and intensity of the electrical transmission from the generator to the cable to the yarder.

Lee then realized that the weather was still not conducive for logging and owned up to that factor, but also realized many other factors played huge roles in this accident.

It is under company safety procedure

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