B.C. LUMBER WORKER

0 SHORT...
‘OR COURTESY
JN AND CAUTION

SAFETY WEAK IN INTERIOR

In a statement issued.to The B.C. Lumber Worker this

week, District 1st Vice-president William Gray pointed to
the general neglect of the accident prevention regulations
throughout the Interior of the province, and urged the
IWA membership in that area to take the necessary action

to organize safe conditions on the job. i

He cited the accidental death of Yoshikaso Tani in the
mill of Pondosa Pine Co. Ltd., Monte Lake, as one where
a clearcut warning had gone unheeded.

The victim, who was assisting
the edgerman at the time of the
fatal accident, was hit in the
abdomen by a piece of 1x4, ap-
proximately 14 ft. long. It had
been caught by the saws in such
@ manner as to cause it to kick
back, over the top of the outfeed

rolls.

He: was pronounced dead on
arrival at the Kamloops Hospital
about 45 minutes later.

The coroner’s jury brought in
a verdict of accidental death,
with blame attached to no one.

Warning Given

Officers of Local 1-417, IWA,
were much disturbed regarding
the accident as only a few days
previously Vice-president Gray,
formerly Secretary of the Dis-
trict Safety Council, had warn-
ed the company that the edger ”
was not safe.

He was told that the edger
had never had a kick-back and
that his fears were groundless.
Since the accident, guards have
been installed, which previously
Gray had urged.

Said the experienced safety
man, “Had the Company followed
out the suggestion given to them
at the time, Brother Tani would

be alive today. It seems regret-
able that someone must either be
killed or seriously injured before
obviously dangerous conditions
are rectified,

“{t is imperative that both
labor and management
throughout the Interior should
recognize the need for action to
prevent *the too frequent tra-
gedies which have given lum-
ber production in the Interior 2
black record. I urge all LWA
members to organize job safety
committees, and act as provid-
ed in the law and under the
agreement to protect their lives
and the livelihood of their de-
pendents.”

Another Edger Fatal

Another edger fatality has again focussed attention on
the importance of installing guards which will protect all
workmen in the vicinity against kickbacks. g

J. Haslim died in hospital, September 16, as the result
of injuries sustained at the M. & N. sawmill, North Van-
couver. Coroner’s jury recommended greater precautions
to prevent this type of accident.

The deceased was assisting the] by a flying 1x6, 12 feet long,
edgerman, when he was struck | kicked back out ‘of the edger, as

he was working 21 feet behind
the machine.

He was taken to hospital with
a seriously fractured leg. Com-
plications set in which resulted
in death, due to an embolism,
arising from the injury.

, One question raised at the in-
quest was whether he had been
moved before the arrival of the

ity

ambulance, which might have ag-
gravated the injury.

IWA Safety Official, William
Croy, Local “1-217, who attended
the inquest, expressed the opin-
ion that insufficient guards had
been provided for the edger and
that it was badly placed, as men
had to pass to the rear of the
machine constantly in the per-
formance of their work.

Jacob Lang
Beheaded

Defective rigging was con-
demned by the coroner’s jury
which heard the facts relating
to the death of Jacob Lang,

who was decapitated while
working as a second loader in
the operation of Allison Log-
ging Co.

SCENE OF FATAL ACCIDENT which resulted in the decapitation
of Jacob Lang. Witness is pointing to the exact spot where the
tragedy occurred.

WO HATTER WilO Wiis THE StRIES—

44 WEVER GET
MOOT (1ST BASE

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The jury criticized the com-,
pany for having poor equipment,
and requested that they under-
take better management in fu-
ture, and make an effort to ob-
serve the accident prevention
regulations.

The Workmen’s Compensation
Board Inspector also condemned
the loading boom in: use at the
time of the fatality as being un-
safe.

Officers of Local 1-363, IWA,
President J: Epp and Financial
Secretary Jacob Holst made a
thorough investigation of the ac-
cident and. attended the enquiry
on behalf of the Union.

Mainline Snapped

The evidence disclosed that the
deceased, in his capacity of sec-
ond loader, was setting the tong
in a bent-over position, When
the mainline parted, the last 20
feet whipped underneath the

S| boom, cutting off his head and

the fingers on his left hand.

According to the evidence, the
mainline had parted three times
in the two days prior to the ac-
cident.

Investigation revealed that it
had been spliced,-and that the
splice was only 24 inches in
length, contrary to the regula-
tions.

Conflicting Evidence

‘The hooktender and the rigging
slinger had complained on sev-
eral occasions about the poor
tigging.

A fir log, approximately 50 feet
in length, was being yarded, and
hung up behind a small embank-
ment, and cedar stump. Accord-
ing to the engineer, only one go-
ahead signal had been given. He
kept the strain on the line until
he saw it part,

The hooker and rigger gave
evidence that, when they saw the
turn hung up, they shouted the
stop signal. Other members of
the crew said they never heard
the signal.

HI9S3/COAST LOG
|

AGE: 29

DATE: APRIL 29,
The cat was tied to a stump
road.

The cat got out of control and
the road.

The driver was killed,

GING ACCIDENTS
"GENERAL

cat WE To SqUME=
Gr toost

OCCUPATION: CAT DRIVER
EXPERIENCE: 2 YEARS

1953.
on a level spot 50 feet above the

Against the orders of the Hooker the driver unshackled the cat
and started to take it down the 40 percent grade.

landed upside down 70 feet below