Chainsaw Level 1 & 2
Course Outline
- Safe chainsaw handling
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Required Maintenance
- Felling Techniques
- The Saw
- Ministry Requirements
Chain saws are a common tool utilized at home and also specific to some occupations with the potential to inflict severe injuries. Tree fallers continue to be the group who suffer the highest fatality rate.
Highlights of a five-year period study conducted in the US showed there were an estimated 115,895 emergency department visits for injuries related to the use of a chain saw. Adults aged 30–59 accounted for the majority of hospital visits for injuries (57%), with males representing 95% of the visits for an injury related to a chain saw. More than half of these, at 58% occurred at the person’s home.
Lacerations were the primary diagnosis for 81% of the hospital visits. 29% of the injuries occurred to the hand or fingers, 18% to the knee, 12.5% to the lower leg or ankle, and 11% to the upper leg. There were average annual 139 amputations and 983 injuries to the head and neck, with 69% of head and neck injuries diagnosed as lacerations.