98887 - RAJALA TIMBER COMPANY

Employee is struck by flying log and is killed

At 9:42 a.m. on January 14, 2019, a log became stuck or jammed on the hour glass line that was feeding logs to the cut off saw. The cut off saw operator shut down the line, retrieved a chainsaw and then made his way to the catwalk adjacent to the hour glass line. After getting to the catwalk on the west side of the hour glass line, the operator used the chainsaw to cut the jammed log in half at a point 22 feet up from the butt end of the log. At the time the operator was cutting the log, the south end of the log was lying along the rollers of the hour glass line while the north end, or butt end, of the log was being lifted by another log that was being held perpendicular to the jammed log by the Barko loader operator. The Barko operator believed the cut off saw operator directed him to lift the jammed log to take tension off of the jammed log and to provide a better area for the cutoff operator to cut through the jammed log. As the operator was cutting through the log, witnesses observed the 22 foot long butt end of the log fly up into the air and land on the ground on the west side of the catwalk. The operator's hat was also observed flying up and over this catwalk at that time. The cutoff saw operator was then found unresponsive on the ground in an area slightly east of the catwalk which was 8 feet and 3 inches above the ground. On January 17, 2019, the operator died as a result of the injuries sustained from the accident. accident.