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A landscaping accident turned deadly in the Fleetwood community
on Tuesday, May 12. Ashe County Sheriff James Williams said
that they received an emergency call at approximately 11 a.m.
and responded to the residence of Steven Ross Dickson on Windy
Hill Road.
"When deputies arrived a short time later," a response
time of approximately 10 minutes, they found Dickson "deceased
near his summer home." Dickson, 61, was recently retired
and from the Raleigh area.
Williams said the accident occurred when Dickson was "using
the chainsaw to cut some limbs off a tree, reaching up in front
of his face to cut limbs over his head. Apparently, the chain
came off the saw and inflicting a fatal wound. He died from
blood loss." According to Williams, Dickson was working
alone at the time of the incident.
Williams called the incident a "tragic accident" and
urged people to be aware of the risks involved with operating
this type of equipment.
"You never know when something like that is going to happen,
so you need to be cautious with chainsaws," he said.
According to the National Ag Safety Database, a program developed
by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately
30 percent of all "woods accidents" in a year involve
chain saws and that younger operators generally have the "greatest
risk for injury.
"Chain saws are powerful tools that make your job of cutting
firewood and fallen trees and removing small trees much easier,"
according to the NASD web site, " but their power makes
them very dangerous tools."
Some of the advice offered by the NASD is "know your saw
and how to operate it before you use it," "take the
time to prepare for the job" and "never work alone."
To find out more about the safe uses of chainsaws and other
equipment, click to the National Ag Safety Database at http://www.cdc.gov/nasd.
-Joel Frady
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