To test a chainsaw chain brake, first inspect the cooled, disabled saw, then perform only the stationary and functional checks specified in the operator manual for that exact model. Do not cut with the saw if the brake will not engage or release as documented, the hand guard or brake parts are damaged, its action has changed, or the chain fails to stop during the manufacturer’s prescribed check.
For ground-level firewood cutting, wear serviceable head, eye or face, hearing, hand, leg, and foot protection required by the saw manual, the job, and local rules before starting. Then check the wood, work area, and saw: PPE can reduce the severity of an injury, but it cannot make overhead, tensioned, unstable, or utility-involved wood acceptable to cut.
Safe chainsaw storm cleanup starts by deciding what not to cut. Leave anything near a utility line, overhead, standing or leaning, tangled, under visible tension, or attached to an unstable root plate for the utility or a qualified tree professional; an experienced homeowner’s possible work area is limited to stable, separated debris on the ground. Storm damage is not ordinary firewood. Limbs can be bent under other limbs, broken tops may remain overhead, logs can roll when support is removed, and an uprooted tree can shift toward its old position. A sharp chain and a familiar saw do not remove those hazards.