On Saturday May 15, a group of ALERT members and Londonderry Firefighters participated in a yearly Chainsaw Cutting and Felling class presented by the Local Government Center (LGC) and instructed by Brent Bebe, a certified Sawyer for the NH Forestry service. The 4 hour morning class room session covered the basics of a cutting job “size up”. This included how to choose safely, a plan to fell a tree, and the many techniques do so. The classroom session also covered the care and maintenance of the chainsaw. Safety was the word of the day.
Images Courtesy - Paul MacCullum
The 4 hour afternoon session was a field exercise in which the class was brought to the property of the Continental Paving Company Inc. in Litchfield, for a hands on experience with trees that were in excess of 40 ft hight and 15 inches in diameter. The session included plunge boring techniques and wedge use to steer a tree. Safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) were discussed and used at all times. Everybody present had a “Go at it”.
The participants took away a good understanding of new techniques and an understanding of why some “bad Habits” should be avoided. They are now better prepared to handle any situation they may face in an official call out in the field.
Special thanks go out to Wynette DeGroot from LGC, Londonderry Fire Department for supplying saws and protective equipment and Mr. Richard Charbonneau VP of Continental paving for the use of their land.
View the gallery of all the pictures from this training session.
