Thank you for your interest in Fire Adapted Community of Trout Lake's (FACT) first community chainsaw training!

PPE - You MUST bring ALL personal protective equipment (PPE) noted below in order to participate in the class. If you do not have the full complement of PPE, FACT may be able to provide some PPE items for you to borrow. PPE should be clean and fully functional. This list includes: Hard-hat, Chaps, ear & eye protection, long pants, long sleeve shirt, gloves, and boots. PPE will be covered in much more detail during the class. Please check with James Moore  (sawprogram@mtadamsstewards.org) in advance of the class if you have ANY questions related to PPE you intend to bring.

SAW AND EQUIPMENT – If you own or have access to a rear-handle gas-powered chainsaw with the functional safety features, bring it to the class. If not, FACT will provide a few chainsaws that participants can borrow for the field portion. If not, we will have sufficient equipment to loan or for you to share with other sawyers.


MORE IN DEPTH OVERVIEW OF PPE & EQUIPMENT

Hard hat or cutting helmet: Helmet must be a Type 1 top of head protection or Type 2 for top of head and side protection and be rated as a Class G (2,200 volt protection) or Class E (20,000 volt protection) with either a six or 4 point suspension system. Metal helmet or any helmet conducting electricity Type (C) helmets are not allowed. Helmet must be replaced if it has a history of significant impact whether or not helmet deformities can be detected. It’s a good practice to write the date the helmet was put into use. Helmets life expectancy is 2-5 years and should be tested by applying 1” of side pressure –helmet should snap back to original position. Surface should be shiny, not dull. Check the suspension to ensure webbing is not worn/damaged and that its attachment to the helmet provides a solid and secure mounting. Many sawyers prefer the Woodsman type helmet which must meet the helmet requirements listed above but also are equipped with hearing and eye protection. Helmets with a chin strap (optional) offer a higher level of protection and are being considered as a future requirement.

Eye protection: Sawyers eyes must be protected at all times by one or more approved eye protective devices from tailgate to tailgate (protective eyewear, face shields or “bug eye”). Approved safety glasses, if frame and lenses are one piece, shall be marked with ANSI Z87.1 or Z87.1+ and if prescription lenses the lenses must be marked with the manufacturer. ANSI approved safety glasses must be worn during the refueling of a chainsaw to protect the sawyer from the potential of the saw and/or fuel can geysering and spraying fuel into the sawyer’s eyes. Geysering also creates a fire/explosion hazard and will be discussed during the class.

Hearing protection: The noise output of a chainsaw can reach 110 decibels or greater. The goal of hearing protection is to reduce that to 85 decibels at the sawyer’s ears and others in the near vicinity in order to protect the wearer from Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Ear muffs Noise Reduction Rating (NRR) is the maximum reduction the ear muffs are capable of during lab testing but in actual/empirical use it drops to about ½ of its NRR rating. Therefore to be protected, ear inserts used in conjunction with ear muffs should be worn in order to meet the target of 85 decibels or less to the saw operator and provide protection up to an 8 hour exposure.

Gloves: It is recommended that sawyers have 2 pairs of gloves, one for dry weather and one for wet. Leather gloves are required for sharpening and strongly recommended when replacing or rotating the chain by hand. When rotating the chain by hand always move the chain in its normal direction of travel to minimize hand injury should the chain suddenly stop (usually due to damaged saw drive link tangs following chain derailment or worn drive sprocket). Gauntlet gloves are not recommended as they serve as wood chip “funnels” to the hands.

Long-sleeved shirt and long pants: Sturdy/heavy duty long sleeve shirt and pants will prevent or reduce severity of injuries caused by contact with branches, vines, etc. Although lighter duty material may be more comfortable during hot weather, they offer less protection so try to balance comfort with protection.

Chainsaw chaps or arborist-style chainsaw pants (Type A or C): All chainsaw approved chaps and Type A or C chainsaw pants commercially available meet the required standard. They will most often reduce the severity of injury and hopefully eliminate injury entirely. Practicing safe sawyer practices are essential in preventing saw/sawyer contact; rely on your skills to eliminate accidents and don’t always expect the chaps to stop body/saw contact. Chaps are measured from beltline, not by inseam, so be aware of this especially if ordering on line.. The required length is 2” below boot tops but ordering somewhat longer offers increased protection. The chaps providing the most protection are “full wrap” and those with the most layers of “sprocket jamming material”. Chaps with one or more pockets are preferred by many sawyers. Seek information from others before purchasing and consider protection, color, weight and comfort. A lighter color chap generally gets better care and maintenance as a black/dark chap hides the dirt/debris/oil.

Chaps require periodic cleaning, maintenance and eventually replacement. To the extent possible, keep oil off the outer layer and especially from contaminating the Kevlar or other sprocket jamming material as oil impairs the function of those fibers. Cuts in the outer layer can be repaired with “Seam Grip” but any cut 1” or more in the first layer of Kevlar or other sprocket jamming material renders the chaps unserviceable and requires replacement. Follow manufacturer’s recommendation for pre use recommendations, cleaning and any maintenance and serviceability requirements. Citrosqueeze is a common cleanser but follow your manufacturer’s recommendation.

IMPORTANT: Chaps will be evaluated prior to any cutting activity to ensure they meet original manufacturing requirements and to ensure cuts and dirt/oil do not render them unsafe/unusable.

Boots: The current USFS Boot policy/standard of 8” is under review. The following is the applicable standard for this year’s 2022 initial saw certification class and likely for the foreseeable future: “Lace up leather heavy duty hiking or logging boots with good ankle support and non-skid lugged or caulked soles, of an appropriate height to ensure 2” of overlap with chainsaw chaps or chainsaw pants when the sawyer is standing upright.”