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Toolbox talk · 10 min · Tools & Equipment

Chainsaw Safety

Hazards: Laceration from chain contact to the leg, hand or face · Kickback of the bar into the operator's head and neck · Struck by falling limbs, tops and hangers · Fall from height or loss of footing while cutting

Why it matters

On September 13, 2022, a 19-year-old cutting branches inside a trailer let the bar touch the trailer wall. The saw kicked back into his face and neck and he died (OSHA Summary Nr 149622.015). In May 2024, a kickback at height threw a tree worker's saw out of the tree; he lost control of his rigging and fell to his death (Nr 166870.015). Neither man was felling a tree. Both were making an ordinary cut.

Key points

  • Know where the kickback zone is. The upper quarter of the bar nose. Touch anything with it and the saw comes at your head. The kickback device never gets removed or disabled (1910.266(e)(2)(i)).
  • Both hands, thumbs wrapped. Thumbs and fingers encircling both handles, every cut (1910.266(e)(2)(viii)). A thumb laid alongside the bar handle does not stop a kickback.
  • Start it on the ground, brake on. Firmly supported, chain brake engaged. Drop starting is prohibited (1910.266(e)(2)(vi)-(vii)).
  • Chaps and cut-resistant boots. Thigh to boot top, cut-resistant material (1910.266(d)(1)(iv)-(v)). Jeans are not cut-resistant material.
  • Nothing directly overhead, nothing off a ladder. 1910.266(e)(2)(xi). No good footing below shoulder height means a different job, with different equipment.
  • Fuel and start 10 feet apart, engine stopped. And 10 feet from any ignition source (1910.266(e)(2)(iv)-(v), 1926.302(c)(1)).
  • Brake on or engine off when you move. Required beyond 50 feet, and smart at five (1910.266(e)(2)(xiv)).

Do / Don't

Do

  • Check chain tension, brake, muffler and handles before every shift.
  • Clear brush, rocks and debris from the path of the saw and your retreat.
  • Look up for hangers and widow-makers before the first cut.
  • Keep everyone else at twice the height of what you are cutting.

Don't

  • Cut with the nose of the bar or into wood you cannot see through.
  • Work alone, or with the saw running while you walk.
  • Take on a leaning, rotten or spring-loaded tree beyond your training.
  • Carry the saw by the bar or with the chain against your leg.

Quick site check

  • Test the chain brake on every saw on site, and check the chain stops when the throttle is released.
  • Count chaps, boots, face screens and hearing protection against the number of cutters.
  • Walk the next cut: retreat path, footing, hangers, and who is standing too close.
Discussion — ask the crew
  1. Take the saw you used last: does the chain brake engage, and does the chain stop when you let go of the throttle?
  2. Who has drop-started a saw on this crew? What made that seem easier than setting it down?
  3. Where is the upper tip of your bar when you make an undercut or a plunge — and what happens if it touches?
  4. Who is wearing chaps today? If nobody, where are they and who orders them?
  5. How far away is the next person when you are cutting, and who is watching for hangers overhead?
Refs: 29 CFR 1910.266(e)(2) — Chain saws: (i) chain brake and kickback device, never removed or disabled; (ii) throttle that stops the chain; (iv)-(v) fuel and start 10 ft away; (vi) no drop starting; (vii) brake engaged at start; (viii) both hands; (xi) no cutting directly overhead; (xiv) brake on beyond 50 ft · 29 CFR 1910.266(d)(1)(iv)-(v) and (e)(1)(ii) — Cut-resistant leg and foot protection, and the pre-shift inspection of chain, muffler, brake and nose shield · OSHA Fact Sheet FS-3920 (09/2018) — Working Safely with Chainsaws · 29 CFR 1926.300(a) and 1926.302(c)(1) — Tools kept in safe condition; fuel powered tools stopped while refueled or serviced · OSHA Accident Summary Nr 149622.015 (09/13/2022) — saw struck a trailer wall, kicked back into the operator's face and neck; fatal · OSHA Accident Summary Nr 166870.015 (05/24/2024) — kickback at height, operator lost control of his rigging and fell; fatalSign-in sheet included in the printed version

Frequently asked questions

The detailed federal chainsaw rules are in the logging standard, 29 CFR 1910.266(e)(2), and they are worth knowing whatever industry you are in: chain brake, throttle that stops the chain, no drop starting, both hands on the handles, no cutting directly overhead. Part 1926 has no chainsaw paragraph of its own — on a construction site the enforceable hooks are 1926.300(a) (tools maintained in safe condition) and 1926.302(c)(1) (fuel powered tools stopped while being refueled or serviced), plus the General Duty Clause. OSHA's Fact Sheet FS-3920 collects the practices for everyone else.

The upper quarter of the bar nose. If that part of the chain touches wood, metal or the ground while the chain is moving, the bar is thrown up and back toward the operator's face and neck faster than anyone can react. 1910.266(e)(2)(i) requires a device that minimizes kickback, and states no chain-saw kickback device shall be removed or otherwise disabled.

Under the logging standard, yes: 1910.266(e)(2)(vii) requires the saw to be started with the chain brake engaged, and (vi) requires it to be started on the ground or where otherwise firmly supported, stating that drop starting a chain saw is prohibited. Those two lines are good practice on any job, not only in logging.

In logging operations they are, and specifically: 1910.266(d)(1)(iv) requires the employer to provide, at no cost, leg protection made of cut-resistant material such as ballistic nylon, covering the full length of the thigh to the top of the boot on each leg, and to ensure each chain saw operator wears it. (d)(1)(v) requires cut-resistant foot protection. Outside logging, OSHA's Fact Sheet FS-3920 lists leg protection such as chaps among the PPE employers must provide and ensure workers use.

Per FS-3920: head protection such as a hard hat, hearing protection sufficient to reduce noise exposure to 90 decibels or less, eye and face protection such as safety glasses, appropriate protective footwear, leg protection such as chaps, work gloves, and fall protection as necessary.

FS-3920 says other workers should be twice as far away as the height of the trees being felled, that the area should be marked with nobody in the immediate area, and that you should never work alone. It also says to identify hangers and widow-makers — branches that can dislodge and fall into the work area from above — before you start.

1910.266(e)(2)(xi) states the chain saw shall not be used to cut directly overhead, and FS-3920 lists operating a chainsaw above shoulder height or above ground level, such as from a ladder or a tree, among the higher-risk operations that need to match the operator's training. The 2024 fatality above began as a kickback at height.

1910.266(e)(1)(ii) requires a pre-shift inspection of each tool, and names for chain saws: chain adjustment, the muffler being operational and in place, and the chain brake and nose shielding devices being in place and functioning properly. Handles and guards must be sound, tight-fitting and in place, and cutting edges sharp.

Sources & references

Content checked against these sources — last reviewed August 28, 2026.

Results are estimates for planning purposes and do not replace a competent person's evaluation or an engineer's design. Follow the OSHA standards that apply to your work and your employer's written program.

By — Editorial team of SteelToeTools.com (published by LSEA SAS) Updated