WESTWOOD, Mass. — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating a deadly tree cutting incident in Leominster Thursday.
Twenty-six-year-old Nicholas Kallio died after falling out of a tree cutting bucket while working to cut a tree down at a home on Flagler Avenue Thursday.
The department told FOX25 in a statement they are looking into whether there were any violations of the OSHA workplace safety standards.
What happened in Leominster is cause for concern for homeowners.
“Accidents have no holiday so be careful…This is a very dangerous job. There's a lot of precautions that go in to doing the right thing,” said Lucas Carr
Arborist and tree company owner Carr makes sure his crew follows safety protocols to the letter.
“This is the hazard we need to remove before it can cause serious injury or even death,” he said.
Kallio fell some 55-feet to his death after not being properly secured in his bucket truck.
Experts in the field tell me that having the proper equipment is key. If a crew shows up to your house with a chainsaw, ladder and rope, you should probably think twice. If a tree company doesn't have the proper insurance when an accident happens, the homeowner could be sued.
Carr said that asking for an insurance certificate is a must to protect you and his crew.
“With insurance, you need to know what you're doing. With employees you need to make sure they know what they're doing and with equipment you need to make sure everybody is on the same page knowing what they're doing,” he said.