CT NEMBA @ Logger Rescue CT

On March 6 several NEMBA members attended a Chainsawing Safety Course put on by Logger Rescue CT. With all of the ice storms this year, the Board of Directors had been discussing the acquisition of a chain saw for trail work. Before purchasing a chainsaw we though that it would be good idea for several NEMBA members to have gone through a chainsaw course first. About half our board members already have chain saws, while the other half never picked one up until this training event.

From Sawyer Pix

Lisa and Chris Manville run the National Chainsaw Safety Training Program. They were gracious enough to host us at their home for 6 hours of training. Their chainsaw safety program is one of the best in the country. Taught by Nationally Recognized Safety Instructor, Dana B. Hinkley. Dana retired from the Berlin, NH Fire Department after 20 years of full time Fire & EMS experience. He retired as captain in heavy rescue. Dana has worked in the logging industry for over 35 years.

From Sawyer Pix

Fortunately, the weather Saturday morning was an exquisite 65 degrees in the sun. While the ground was turning to mush around us we were happy to be doing something productive since conditions prevented riding.

From Sawyer Pix

The training began with an extensive overview of safety equipment that went from top to bottom. Dana stressed how important it was to wear a helmet. He also made a point to educate us about the dangers of compromising a helmet's integrity by drilling holes in it for ventilation or putting padding between the webbing and the underside. Dana also advised that helmets need to be replaced after 3 years because the polymers breakdown in sunlight rendering the helmet ineffective. The importance of the helmet is not only as the first line of defense from falling debris but it's also a key safety feature if the saw were to kick back toward your face. The brim on chainsaw helmets will prevent the saw from hitting you in the face. Some helmets also have ear protection and a screen for your face to keep wood chips from getting in your eye.

Dana and Chris also stressed wearing protective chaps and boots. Both clothing items won't stop the saw from cutting into you but it will slow it down so that you can react in time to save yourself. Dana mentioned that you can buy Kevlar socks designed with fibers that will get tangled in the chain and slow it down to hopefully avoid cutting your foot. There are also protective boots but they are in excess of $200. There wasn't much that could be said for gloves except find a pair that is comfortable and durable and allow you to feel what the saw is doing.

From Sawyer Pix

The next subject they taught was maintenance. Obviously, if you know how to maintain your equipment, it will run well for you. They also demonstrated that there are many basic maintenance procedures that you can perform yourself to save time and money. They covered everything from air and fuel filters to servicing the clutch and drive train. Below is Art's Husquavana or Huskie for short. If you can't tell, Stihl sponsors Logger Rescue and Art's machine is essentially the competition.



So, they took it apart to demonstrate the differences but didn't put it back together, they left that to Art for when the class concluded.

Dana also went into a lengthy demonstration on sharpening the teeth on the chain, including how to move the chain and effective and ineffective ways to sharpen.

From Sawyer Pix

Then we covered starting procedures. This included demonstrating how to hold the chainsaw properly for starting and examples of bad technique that might get you hurt.

Lunch was provided by Windham Tech. It included Chicken Cordon Blue, mash potatoes, salad, and baked Ziti. The leftovers were donated to a local soup kitchen.

From Sawyer Pix

After lunch, we headed out to the woods to watch demonstrations on felling, clearing, bucking, and limbing. In this demonstration Dana talked about how to set up to drop a tree, which included planning escape routes, how to estimate the height of the tree, and how to cut it to place it where you want it to land.

From Sawyer Pix

This was done by holding an ax handle at arms length in front of you and sighting your eye with the tree. When your eye, the top of the handle, and the top of the tree line up, you are at the position of where the end of the tree or the crown will fall.

From Sawyer Pix

After the tree was down Dana showed us how to trim the tree and also various ways of cutting downed trees in a manner that all tension in the tree is released along the tree and not into the air where it could hurt you. These techniques are brilliant. He was able to cut just about any aspect of a downed tree and have it fall right where he wanted it to. These are great tools to have when clearing a tree from across a trail.



The training included extensive instruction of the proper clothing and safety equipment, as well as the proper cutting techniques and correct procedures for taking down trees, cutting limbs, and clearing trees that might be down across a trail.



For more information on Logger Rescue CT contact Lisa Manville at 860-450-0002 or email her at lisamanville@charter.net.