Well well well, the New Year certainly came in with a bang for us tree folk. Forget London’s flashy fireworks display; it seems you don’t need to spend millions of pounds to create some exciting chaos. I am, of course, talking about the ludicrously high winds that revved up their engines just as we opened our eyes on New Year’s day.
Winds reached a whopping 100mph in Scotland (they’re always getting the brunt of it), and a lesser - but just as menacing - 70mph here in South West England. Pandemonium ensued, tearing down trees which very inconveniently decided to lay their leafy heads across railways, motorways and power lines. The weather even managed to shove over a few Lorries.
This was rather inconvenient for most people, but tree surgeons aren’t ‘most people’. Far from being an annoyance, the wicked weather gave us climbers a great excuse to don our chainsaw trousers and do the job we love.
But in these emergency situations you really do need to know what you’re doing. Not only are you taken off guard (you could very well be tucking yourself into bed when that emergency call comes in), but the nature of the situation means that you’re highly likely to be faced with a tricky, complicated job that requires quick thinking and confidence. This is not your everyday fell or pruning job; what you find will be messy and chaotic.
This is why proper training is so important. I’m going to take you through the NPTC units that cover all you need to know to be a fantastic emergency tree surgeon, namely CS34: Sever Individually Uprooted Trees, and CS50: Techniques For Dealing With Damaged Trees.
The beauty of these courses is that you’re not only learning the practical techniques of tree work, but the safety procedures too, for example inspecting the tree and neighbouring trees for dead wood, insecure branches or other objects, and ensuring no overhead power lines are in the way. After all, if the wind is strong enough to uproot a tree, it’s strong enough to bring down everything else around it!
CS34: Sever Individually Uprooted Trees teaches you how to sever the root plate using appropriate cuts. You’ll learn how to identify the level of tension and compression in stems so that you can select the correct severing methods appropriate to the tree’s size and condition. The course also covers how to restrain overhanging (forward weighted) root plates prior to severing stems, and using a hand winch to assist with felling, or restraining root plates.
CS50: Techniques For Dealing with Damaged Trees teaches you how to tackle a number of different situations involving damaged trees, for example roadside trees which have uprooted or become dangerous. You’ll also learn how to restrain a root plate of a damaged tree with a hand winch, and how to sever the root plate. This is a great course that really covers a lot of ground, as you’ll also come away knowing how to dismantle branches from a damaged tree, fell leaning or part uprooted trees, as well as how to fell a tree with a significantly broken crown using a winch or pull rope.
There really is so much to know, and as with all skilled careers you need to be at the top of your game in terms of knowledge and practice. We believe there is only one way to do this job, and that is well. There should be no such thing as an incompetent tree care worker, especially in dangerous situations like emergency storm damage jobs. So if you’re serious about your career and want to be up there with the best of them, then make sure you cover all bases in terms of training.
If you’re ready to tackle the units I have mentioned, then feel free to take a peek at our Courses and Assessments section, which gives you a run-down of what you will cover, and how to apply.
That’s all for now folks, safe climbing!
Josephine Hedger
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| Storm Damage |
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| Windblown |
