I would suspect that it might have been an Olathe, or Vermeer, chipper that might have a hand controlled manual feed on it but most operators will tie the engagement lever in the engaged position so they don't have to stand and hold it. I haven't been involved with that kind of equipment for many years so I don't know what kind of controls they have now.
Its just common sense isnt so common now a days being the biggest factor. The feed is usually controlled by a large bar that encircles around the feed mouth, guess it really depends on the age of the machine, newer ones have more features obviously.
I remember a Dept. of Energy job that I was on a couple of years ago. I was the Site Safety Officer for the job and it was a tree removal job that involved removal of potentially radioactive trees(slight potential) and when the prime contractor personnel were going over the safety requirements and require personnel protective equipment they said that the operators would be wearing tyvek coveralls. I saw the tree guys looking at one another. I said to the DoE reps, "Are you expecting the guys operating wood chippers to be wearing long sleeve coveralls?" They said, "well yes." I said, "That's not gonna happen." They said, "We have to make sure they don't get their arms contaminated." I said, "I would prefer a contaminated arm over a missing arm." They agreed. :up:
The father took the boys along to help (?) him...only natural that a curious normal kid would want to see how the chipper works by pushing in a limb or something...the thing is that a six yr old shouldn't be near one of those machines when it's in use...the older brothers witnessed the event. I suppose it is not possible to build a woodchipper so that the operating parts are somehow shielded...it's a dangerous piece of equipment and all sympathy given to the family at this time of loss, the terrible truth is that Dad should have left the kids at home.
It sounds like the kid was on spring break from school. Probably figured it was better than leaving the kid home alone. Tragic.
There is no way to guard the chopper. This is an issue that has come up with OSHA and the chippers have(or are suppose to have) perimeter stop bars around the opening. The bad part is the stop bars can be a pain in the ass because limbs catch them and stop the machine so there is a big problem with the companies disconnecting this mechanism. The other issue is even with the stop bars the machines feed so fast that there is no reaction time for a human that gets caught up in a small limb. The best thing to do from a safety standpoint is obviously don't let kids around them and the other is make sure you aren't wearing long sleeves or any type of bracelets, watches, etc.
Are you not smart enough to know when to stop being an ass? You must not be a parent....no parent would think this is joking material.