Frederic Serre
The Advocate
Farms across Quebec that carry out forest management work are being urged to improve employee training and equipment in the wake of a fatal accident last December on an agricultural property in Ste. Marie de Beauce, which was investigated by the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).
The commission issued its findings July 9 into the accident that claimed the life of a worker from Ferme Noël Maheux et fils Inc. on Dec. 8, 2023.
On the day of the accident, the worker was at the company’s maple bush, thinning and clearing the forest with a chainsaw. As he began felling an ash tree, it became entangled with the top of a maple tree as it fell. To free the ash, the worker began cutting the part of the tree that hinged at its stump. The ash tree fell on the worker, who was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The CNESST investigation identified three causes of the accident:
– The worker’s positioning near the ash exposed him to a sudden fall of the tree.
– The absence of an escape route from the ash felling area deprived the worker of any exit when the tree fell.
– Lack of precision in the execution of the directional notch, the hinge and the felling cut resulted in the ash falling in the wrong direction.
Following the accident, the CNESST required Ferme Noël Maheux to train workers in directional felling, provide them with personal protective equipment for forestry work requiring the use of a chainsaw, equip the company’s chainsaws with safety equipment, use compliant vehicles that are adapted to the work environment and equipped with adequate protection for the driver during forestry tasks.
To prevent such an accident from happening again, the CNESST said it will inform the Union des producteurs agricoles du Québec, the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association and the Producteurs et productrices acéricoles du Québec of the findings of this investigation, so that they can make their members aware of the dangers associated with forest management work.