Forklifts move the modern construction site. Lumber, block, roofing, and mechanical systems all travel by forklift before they reach their final position, and materials handling has grown into one of the largest equipment categories in the industry. The scale of that industry showed up recently when a global manufacturer celebrated its 100,000th forklift and turned […]
Just after 11 p.m. on a January night, firefighters responding to a reported shed fire in Palmyra, Wisconsin, found an entire lumberyard engulfed in flames. Thirty fire trucks from four neighboring counties fought the blaze through freezing temperatures for hours. The fire moved from the steel shed through the lumber shed to the office, and
A forklift striking a rack column is one of the most expensive accidents in a warehouse, and it happens more often than anyone likes to admit. The impact can buckle a rack, spill a pallet, injure a worker, and shut down an aisle for weeks. Protection in a material handling facility works in layers: collision
A firefighter lost his life and more than ten emergency responders and mill employees were injured when a silo full of wood shavings exploded at a sawmill in Searsmont, Maine, in May 2026. The fire started in an area where shavings are bagged for retail sale, workers tried to douse it themselves before the fire
A fire and explosion at a lumber mill this spring killed one first responder, injured several employees, and put the building materials industry on notice about the risks present on every shift. Mills, manufacturing facilities, logging operations, trucking fleets, and construction yards all run on heavy equipment, combustible materials, and demanding conditions, and the places
A fire and explosion at a lumber mill can unfold in seconds and leave injuries, lost production, and a shaken community in its wake. The incident at a Maine sawmill that killed a firefighter and injured several first responders put a spotlight on how wood processing facilities prepare for fire events and recover from them.
Lumber and building material dealers move heavy, awkward product every day: framing lumber, panels, engineered wood, decking, and roofing. The work is seasonal, the loads are heavy, and the margin for error is thin, which is why material handling and safety get dedicated coverage in the trade press year after year. Monthly magazines organize their
Open floor plans are one of the main reasons people choose timber construction. Because the posts and beams carry the loads, interior bearing walls can disappear, which frees up space for great rooms, lofts, and tall stairwells. That openness also creates abrupt drop-offs. Stairways, catwalks, landings, balconies, and decks all need a barrier where the
Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, and for anyone living within reach of a coastline those six months demand a working plan for the home and the family. Timber and log homes face the same wind and water threats as any other structure, and the wood components add vulnerabilities that concrete
Home security is no longer as simple as locking the doors. Today’s homeowners weigh porch pirates, smart-home cyber attacks, and conventional intruders, and many log and timber homeowners add a harder problem: remote living, where the property may sit unattended for weeks while the owner watches from a distance. The prevention toolbox has grown to
