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At Trail Association's Chain Saw School, Safety Rules

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 22, 2008

Updated: 01/22/2008 12:14 am

THONOTOSASSA - A chain saw chewed through the doomed maple while two men held ropes secured to its trunk.

Within five minutes, the towering tree toppled, landing in a 10-foot divide between two longleaf pines - just as planned.

"Your decision to go with a conventional cut was OK," Bill Martin said to the students around him at Hillsborough River State Park.

Martin, a Florida Trail Association section leader, was one of the three instructors at the Florida Trail Association Chain Saw School session. Nine students learned how to avoid accidents when using a chain saw while getting the maximum benefit from the tool's capabilities.

Deb Blick, Florida Trail Association resource coordinator, said the clinics' benefits are twofold: People learn proper chain saw use and become certified by the U.S. Forest Service to use one, and the host park gets a few chores finished at no cost. More than 200 forest workers have become certified through the school since it began in 2004.

The next school will be April 19 to 20 at Myakka River State Park, which is near Sarasota.

For details, call Blick at (352) 378-8823.

Paul Catala

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