B.C. LUMBER WORKER

NO FIRST AID;

LOGGER DIES

Circumstances leading to the death of Merle Francis
Chambers, recently injured while employed as a cat-driver

in_ the operation of Pritty

Logging Co., near Harrison

Mills, is now the subject of investigation by officials of,

Local 1-367, IWA, and the District Safety Director, John ~

T. Atkinson,

.As the operation was not certi-
fied, ‘advice with regard to the
accident was not communicated
to the Local Union until after an
inquest held in Vancouver. The
deceased is survived by a widow
«and two small daughters.

At the time of the accident, the
victim was assisting in the clear-
ing and construction of a new
logging road. Evidence at the in-
quest was to the effect that the
fallers were dropping a large
dead tree which, in falling, took
a sudden twist the wrong way
due to a “punky” section.

The injured man suffered com\-
pound fractures in both legs, and
some internal injuries. Witnesses
have advised that there no
first-aid attention: available.
There was no first-aid kit in the
operation. It became necessary to
transport the sufferer, while fully
conscious, by truck and boat, to
the Mission Hospital without
blankets, stretcher or the usual
aids to combat shock.

The result was that on arrival
at the Mission Hospital, his con-
dition was found to be grave. The
attending physician decided that
in order to avoid amputation he
should be given specialist treat-
ment, and ordered his removal to
a Vancouver Hospital by ambu-
lance. He died within one block
of the Vancouver hospital.

IWA safety men point to the
lack of first-aid attention as a
likely contributing cause of death,
when the chief injuries were com-
pound fractures of the legs. If

their judgment is upheld as a re-
sult of the investigation, the ef-
fort will be made to make certain
that first-aid attention is avail-
able to all men working in the
area mm all operations.

Salety Clause
For New Contract

Inclusion of a clause in the
master contract to protect IWA
members against dismissal
when refusing to work under
unsafe conditions, was approv-
ed in principle by the IWA
Wages and Contract Confer-
ence, March 3, and referred
to the District Policy Commit-
tee.

The proposal originated with
the District Safety Conference
and was subsequently approved
by the District Convention last
January. f

Commissioner Chris Pritchard
of the Workmen’s Compensation
Board has repeatedly given the
idea his blessing when addressing
IWA audiences.
| Experienced safety men in the
|IWA state that such a contract
clause is made inevitable by the
application of the WCB policy to
charge and fine workers for any
violation of the accident preven-
tion regulations.

‘ALASKA PINE

Annual safety meeting of safe-
ty committee members, super-
visors, captains, and inspectors in
Alaska Pine, New Westminster,
will be held on April 15, it is an-
nounced by the IWA Chairman

SAFETY MEET

of the Safety Committee, Albert
Larkin.

Guest speaker on the occasion
will be District Safety Director
John T. Atkinson.

\ a

AGE: 41
OCCUPATION:
EXPERIENCE:

Dead ‘

TRUCK DRIVER
NOT KNOWN

DATE: OCTOBER 17, 1951.

‘The truck driver pulled into the dump and disconnected the binder
chain before a safety line was put on the load.

He was crushed beneath two logs which fell off the load as soon

as the bindér was loosened.

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