BRADLEY, Maine — NEWS CENTER Maine is taking a closer look into logging safety after one man was tragically killed on Friday when a tree fell on top of him.
It happened on Margarita Way, off of Green Lake Road in Ellsworth.
Police found the man, later identified as Marc Calcia, 53, of Sorrento, around 6 o'clock in the morning after Calcia's wife reported him missing when he never returned home.
Calcia had been working alone.
"Gravity always wins so we need to help control it so we can get the tree to go where we want," said arborist Jay Perry.
Perry assesses tree health and condition, as well as damage.
"If there's a leaning problem," said Perry, listing examples of problem trees he sees on a daily basis. "If there's a rotting problem. If it's a hazard to your house or going to fall on your house. We can come out and we can trim. We can remove trees."
90 percent of the time, Perry is working alone.
"You can't be too careful, really," said Perry. "You don't know the unexpected that's going to happen. Every tree is different. They may look all the same, but they're all totally different. The internal structure is different. You could have issues with rot you don't see. It could cause a tree to do something different. Wind conditions will do the same thing, also. A gust of wind could come along and change everything on you."
He takes certain safety precautions to ensure he doesn't put himself in a bad situation.
"$100.00 set of chaps is a lot less money than a new kneecap," said Perry. Other safety measures include "chainsaw safety, hearing protection, eye protection, and fall protection if you're in the tree or in a bucket truck."
Almost humorous, Perry said he gets calls from anxious wives looking for his expertise saying, 'I don't want my husband to cut this tree.'
Perry, a licensed arborist, will show up and get the job done instead, so no one gets hurt.
As for Friday's tragic accident, an official with the Ellsworth Fire Department said the man's death does not appear suspicious but it's still under investigation since it was an unattended death.
The investigation has been taken over by the state's office of the Medical Examiner pending a full autopsy.