Palm Cleaning Deaths

Jack

Jack

Treehouser
Joined
Sep 23, 2010
Messages
2,537
Apparently this is an unfortunately common occurrence. There are no palms anywhere near here so I wouldn't know. But, I thought it would be good to share these vids for those new to palm work.

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/75OjQ-nZhk8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y_D3VtgLQpg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Jack, it's been discussed here a bit, the hazards when up in palms. A reminder of the extreme danger. Tough for the families of those unfortunate guys.
 
Brutal.

I've read about it, but never seen pics/ video of it.

SRT/ Secret Weapon set up over the top of the palm is supposed to be a good way to go, from what I've read. Work it top down.

Thankfully, I've only seen about 4 palms here, and all small.
 
I'm not at all fond of palm fronds. When I was a kid, I ran my bike into a pile of them out by a curb, and a number of the long needles broke off in my knee. It might be species related, but for people that may not be aware of it, they can have some wicked needles sticking out at the ends. Rightfully, the knee should have probably been anaesthetized, but my father played doctor and dug them out cold turkey. I was just a wee lad, but I still vividly remember.....it was awful.
 
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  • #5
woodworkingboy said:
Jack, it's been discussed here a bit, the hazards when up in palms. A reminder of the extreme danger. Tough for the families of those unfortunate guys.
Click to expand...

I was fairly sure it had to have been discussed here. But, I didn't search, because it's still happening and keeping it out 'front' might save someone's life.

I think top-down with Sean's approach or straight SRT over the top might be much safer. It seems crazy, from my limited perspective, to work bottom-up. :|:

If everything goes right I'll never have to do a palm ... it ain't on my bucket-list!!! ;)
 
I don't do many palms, but when I do I make sure that I set a like at the top and I srt up. I saw a huge clump of fronds come down on a guy and he lucked out because he was on a ladder and just fell into the bushes. Had he been tied in and 10' higher up the tree I would have had to figure out a way to get his ass down which would have been tough because he was a hefty guy and he was the only one with spikes that day!

Tie high or say goodbye.

love
nick
 
I remember years ago attempting to set a rope over top of a palm tree and wasting several hours without success. I never did figure out how to do that. Luckily I only do them out of a bucket truck these days.
 
Skwerl said:
I remember years ago attempting to set a rope over top of a palm tree and wasting several hours without success. I never did figure out how to do that. Luckily I only do them out of a bucket truck these days.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it can take awhile sometimes. I would quit trying after the third time and take a 48" FS and use it like a landyard. If some thing happened, I could still get down. All the weight would keep you from un-hooking. You suffocate and cant breathe out. Sad way to go.
 
I just did two coconuts last week...they are easy to do, bottom up, and yes, they got spiked.

I HATE any Phoenix palms, and I'm not keen on Washingtonias, the ones that kill people with all those dead fronds. Luckily the ones I do only have a year or two's worth of fronds so its not too bad, but here they get some disorder that makes the 'bark' slough off and get punky spots, not nice when your spike sinks in to the ankle 40' up on nothing much more than a straw of cellulose and water.

I would not use spikes if bucket access were a possiblity...

I have been asked to bid on removing dead palm that was growing THROUGH a restaurant, I mean the trunk is inside the kitchen, and the roof is sealed around it, way back between two blocks in the city, no access for any machinery, and its about 60' and skinny. I won't do it for less than $300, shouldn't take more than 2hrs but its SCARY! It has to be rigged on
itself, no drop zone, we'll be walking on the roof of the restaurant. I would have to get my best rope man, and he just had quadruple bypass about a month ago, hopefully he's up for it, he's got super soft hands on the porty.
 
Both of those prices seem to low to me. You're going to have to rope the trunk pieces down, right? I'd add extra as a "just in case"

love
nick
 
Sounds low to me, too, with all the targets and limited access to it. I'd love to see pictures of that setup.
 
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  • #15
Bermy said:
...

I have been asked to bid on removing dead palm that was growing THROUGH a restaurant, I mean the trunk is inside the kitchen, and the roof is sealed around it, way back between two blocks in the city, no access for any machinery, and its about 60' and skinny. I won't do it for less than $300, shouldn't take more than 2hrs but its SCARY! It has to be rigged on
itself, no drop zone, we'll be walking on the roof of the restaurant. I would have to get my best rope man, and he just had quadruple bypass about a month ago, hopefully he's up for it, he's got super soft hands on the porty.
Click to expand...

Dead, thru roof, 60', no drop zone, quadruple bypass roper ... :\: ... I'd need six figures or MORE ... :blob6: ... nah!


edit: Who builds a restaurant kitchen around a palm?? ... :|:
 
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  • #17
:lol: Probably true ... but it wouldn't grow through the roof. In Vegas, you could top it & rig it down from an interior balcony ... :D
 
So what the whole bunch of dead fronds come crashing down or something ?

About all I know about palms stems back to the winter I spent in Key West trying to avoid coconuts falling out of the damned things as I staggered down Duval with a snoot full at 2:30 in the morning .Not to mention 40 million lizards that seemed to like to live in the things .
 
i lost a friend in santa ana a few years back, due to the skirt falling on him,
i found if i cant set a line over the top, i use a sling to tie into as i progress upward, so if i have to bail i can,
people underestimate these things and sadly its usually undertrained migrant workers who get hung up in them,
 
My Avatar shows me doing a palm like that. They were the only two that I ever did like that. Like Brian said setting the rope up there is a son of a gun. I didn't SRT up. I got a rope through the top then tied a pulley on the end and put my climbline through the pulley and pulled it back up to the top. SRT would be better I'm sure. It's still pretty dangerous working it as you are always cutting close to your rope. Which is why I was using a handsaw in the picture. Pretty slow and a lot of good exercise. So yes you do need to put plenty of money on them. I had a climber working for me who would work them with his flipline from the bottom and I'm just lucky that this never happened to him. These are the Washingtonia palms and they are pretty common here, and there is a tremendous amount of clean-up.
 
FWIW...that $300 is just for me, groundie, $150, labour is someone else's problem...

Back on topic...fortunately washintonias don't get much of a chance to build up huge skirts like you all seem to get, the winter gales and hurricanes blow most of the older ones off!
 
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