22nd October 2013
Firebreaks and Flying Chainsaws
With the council's deadline for having our firebreak installed fast approaching, it was time for Jamie to get reacquainted with the chainsaw.
The operation started off well...we had a clear plan to remove some errant branches from a weeping tea-tree that was hanging over the firebreak. Jamie was up the tree, Spud (our staffy cross) was foreman and I was manning the rope (to make sure that the branch would fall the right way).
The first few branches came down with minimal drama but then it went pear-shaped and to cut a very sad story short, the chainsaw took a four metre fall from the tree. Of course it could have been much, much worse - Jamie could have fallen out the tree with it, or the saw could have hit Spud or I. It was in fact comforting to know that all the safety features of the chainsaw work.
Glumly we surveyed the damage, a bent blade and chain and a sheered housing bolt. It would be straight back to the repair and servicing shop from which we had only just got it back! - I believe this is commonly referred to as 'Murphy's Law'.