Palm Cleaning death

Eric Frei

Must have been a fan palm (washingtonia) and the skirt collapsed.

Man killed while trimming palm tree | visaliatimesdelta.com | Visalia Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register

__________________

Victor Lindsay

Thx for the post Ekka. Guys die every year doing this type of palm, but most of us don't know about it, and become complacent about our tecnq. Yes, it is easyer to use spikes and clean from the bottom and work up. but the bottom line is... if a bucket cann't reach it, you need to use an adjustable false crotch, and work that palm from the top down, or leave it for some one who can handle it.

Victor Lindsay

Here's another one.

http://http://www3.signonsandiego.co...rimmer-escued/

BONITA – A tree trimmer buried by palm-tree fronds was rescued Thursday by firefighters who used a ladder to rescue him 40 feet from the ground.
The 40-year-old man was cutting fronds at a home on Sweetwater Road near Briarwood Road just after 10 a.m. when he became trapped by the fronds, said Leonard Villarreal, spokesman for the San Miguel Fire District.
The man had a partner on the ground who called for help.
Firefighters heard the man yelling when they arrived but could not see him.
The man had secured a safety line around the tree, but became pinched against it by cut fronds that created rings that weighed down the line, Villarreal said.
Trimmers have been known to be asphyxiated in such instances because the safety line becomes a hazard that traps the trimmers, Villarreal said.
More than a dozen firefighters were involved in the rescue. It took about an hour to free the man, who suffered scrapes and cuts and was taken to a hospital for observation. He was later released “and eager to get back to work,” Villarreal said.

Eric Frei

And yet another.

Trimmer Dies While Tethered to Palm Tree - KTLA

__________________

Sunraysia Tree Solutions

I don't get it ? how do they die ? do the fronds fall down and wedge themselves between the trunk and their chest ? suffocating them ?
Dead fronds dont weigh that much do they ? Please tell me if i'm wrong ?

newguy18

Exactly,a frond doesn't weigh much in itself,but when you have say 5-30 of beard come down on you,it can weigh as much as 500lbs.Washitonia palms are espically notorious for this and when the come down,they are all interlocked and you have almost no chance of breaking the fronds apart to save yourself,palms are evil,vile nasty things and all should be removed imo.

__________________
Have your say join us today.


old schooler

Eric Frei

And it's hot and dusty as hell under there, triple whammy. Kill'm all. I assure you that if the dinosaurs had survived there'd be bugger all of the shit things here today.

__________________

sueann

What about Bangalows? I wanted to put 4 of them in around the side.

I think it's maybe a dangerous job that you guys do anyway, palms or not.

Eric Frei

What is the objective of the planting?

__________________

chrisingham

Just a quick search and you can find quite a few related deaths, sad indeed. I guess it just serves as a reminder that no matter how passionate we are of what we do, and no matter how good we think we are, it always is a good idea to be cautious. The saying "prevention is better than cure" sure rings a bell in these cases. Stay safe out there guys.

sueann

New swimming pool. What else would you plant beside some nice palms? I really like bangalows and majestics. I want it to look a bit tropically.

Eric Frei

So, 4 around the side but near swimming pool, for what, shade? Looks?

Looks real good looking a 10m of telegraph pole with a few bits of cabbage on top. Hopefully they're downwind from the pool, not that they flatulate or anything like that but they do get flowers which the wind likes to blow off.

I love those palms, plant more coz I need the work in 10 years time.

__________________

sueann

Yeah, I know the bangalows get a bit like that and I think their private parts can be a problem so I'm not too sure about them really. You're not allowed to plant coco's any more and I wouldn't anyway.

But the majestic one's would maybe be ok? yes?

Some other palms I've been looking at on ebay like the lipstick one are nice but no good for down here as we're not really tropically enough I don't think.

I'm still thinking about that area atm. I guess it'll come to me what to do.


Anyway Brissie is a bit far for you to come chopping trees down.

newguy18

wahtever you plant avoid the following.
1.washitonias
2.sabals
3.phoenix recuanadas
4.silverback palmettoes
5.meejools
6.canary date island palms
also any palm of the dact variety[looking out for Eric's future]

I like queen palms,cuban royals are nice to.

__________________
Have your say join us today.


old schooler

dov

Date Palms... Grrr! Horrible spiky bloody things. All you can do is quote double and hope you don't get the job. Still got about 10mm on one in my finger from a year ago...

__________________

Eric Frei

Majestics dont handle the hot dry summers too well, you are inland, likely tough soil. But they are one of the better ones and slower growing. I'd rather take an Alexandra palm over a Bangalow though, if you buy doubles or triples they do grow slower.

But personally, I'd be rethinking if I were you. Dang palms either grow 20m tall or 2m .... not much between.

__________________

sueann

I don't mind the alexandria's either come to think of it. I don't need them for shade as there's a pergola thingy at one end and a sail up the other end to put up and down depending when you want to swim, it's on a windup thing.

Well, it will be if it ever gets put up. This is one reason why women have to nag, nothing gets done if we don't. *sob*

I don't know what else to make it all look tropically if I don't put palms of some sort down.

Everyone just goes palms from what I've seen.

Eric Frei

You forgot the most obvious option, do it yourself!

.....

Get some triple Alex's then.

__________________

sueann

I can't do it myself. I don't know how, and it's kind of big looking.

Eric Frei

Are we on the same wave length here or what? Now get your mind out fo the gutter and focused back on the topic .... shade sails.

__________________

sueann

Well what did you think I was talking about???? and you can't spell!

Anyway, I don't nag at him, he works 13hr shifts plus travels an hour up the the valley to the pit and an hour back home, 4 days a week so I don't nag at all.

Sometimes he's kinda tired, so I understand!

Eric Frei

Lucky bugger!

Gets at least 15 hours of peace a day.

__________________

sueann

Haha! He loves coming home so meh!

You should watch current affair on in a minute with Matt White. Do you get it up in Brissie?

Something about a forestry worker who went beserk because of greenies or something. It looks as though he chops up their cars!! lol!

Eric Frei

Tasmanian forestry contractors attack protestors

__________________

sueann

Whoa! he was just a tad cranky! you couldn't hear that language on the telly, luckily!

They have had the same problems with greenies at the mines here. It's a bit hard as I think I'm a bit of a greenie sometimes as I do care.

Thing is, my husband has offered for them to come to the labs and see what they do to try and make the coal cleaner and what they do with the tailings, they're working on it all the time to make the coal eco friendly. But then they go on about the pits themselves -like there's always something not right with coal.

They've chained themselves to machinary and huge trucks and whatever, so stupid and dangerous really.

Australia rides on the back of coal exports, we would be financially messed up without it, maybe not broke but the pits bring a lot of money into the country.

He always asks them how they think they get their electricity, nuclear is light years away, if ever, windmills are seriously not viable no matter what the greenies say, so coal at this point is the only option.

Or turn off your lights.
Coal mining men get so sick of it.

newguy18

I had one go through the palm of my hand last summer,fuggen hurt and it got so swollen i couldn't make a fist for like 6 weeks afterwards.

__________________
Have your say join us today.


old schooler

dov

This one in my finger is probably the only one that hasn't gotten infected praise God! Had the tip of a spike break off in my leg about 5yrs ago. Couldn't take time off work to get it cut out, but the infection brought it out about 6 weeks later. Still have a hollow in the flesh there.

I always tell myself that I'm going to quote double for Date Palms or other spiky things, but almost always forget when I'm doing an actual quote... Thankfully I don't see the Date Palms so much now as my business area has moved a bit. Inner east of Melbourne is full of the bloody things, but not so many of them in the South East.

__________________

King koala

Took a year for my body to throw out a date palm spine from the tip of my left forefinger, entered form the bottom of the finger and snapped off the tip when I yanked the bastard out.the spine haddnt been broken down at all and was 8mm long. Have a perment thickened pad on finger as a result. Toxic evil, worst of all the Palms, so sorry to hear of people dying when doing a cotton palm skirt cleaning, always better when you can get a bucket up to them, I hate spending hours with that weight pressing down on you as you gass out under that dead disease riddled vermin infested death trap. Nuke all from orbit just to be sure.
My sincere condolences to the familys and workmates of the men metioned in this forum doing this particularly dangerous type of climbing.

Victor Lindsay

Down here in the keys, the starting price for most is $250.00, just because of those thorns. It's a workmans comp issue.

terry

hi newguy,
every job has its dangers by removing all palms doesn't make your job any safer its about following correct procedure to minimise the ocurance of an accident.because there are deaths on our roads you dont stop driving or remove all cars of the road.cleaning or removing palms is another aspect of our job i'm happy to do it at the write price.