Originally posted by RICHARD

... after a nail gun was accidentally set off on the site.

Nail gun or nail MACHINE gun??
Sadly, it's not just a "Cah-lee-for-nee-ah" problem!

Although a valuable time-saver on construction sites;
an originally as-BUILT Nail Gun is a safe tool -
But MANY are "modified" to become quite literally a
nail spitting Rapid-Fire Machine Gun!

"As-BUILT" by the manufacturer,
a Nail Gun has TWO interlocked safety systems -
1) A Pressure sensitive "foot" that must FIRST be pressed
down on the "target" (usually a board -
not you buddy's hand or HEAD!)
2) A one-shot "Trigger" that must be squeezed
AFTER the foot makes contact -
and then Released to initiate a second shot.
3) The "foot" must also be picked UP and then re-positioned
and pressed again to reset the gun and allow another "shot".

So to "fire" a single nail; the carpenter must -
1) Position and PRESS the gun on the work surface
2) Squeeze and then Release the trigger
3) Pick UP and reposition the gun

"Reasonably" *safe* - other than Oopsies
where a High Power gun is accidentally fired through a
light wieght material that doesn't have a board behind it.
Don't EVER stand under a guy nail-gunning the deck on a floor or roof -
IF he mistakenly "misses" lining up with the underlying board -
(which he can't *see*) - You might be what stops the errant "shot"
that penetrates the plywood!

So how'd poor Mr. Mejia wind up with SIX "shots" in his HEAD?

First - he FELL off the roof ...
and Landed ON the guy with the Nail Gun!

And ... (*MY* Personal thought)...
The nail gun MAY have been "modified" to be a rapid-fire "repeater" ...

Methods vary, but a "favorite modification" is to remove several
of the Trigger Interlocks... so the user just has to >>

Squeeze (and HOLD) the trigger ONE Time -
and EVERY time the foot of the gun touches something -
it WILL *FIRE* out a nail!

(Some guys even tie down the trigger -
all they have to do is "bump" the gun down on a board to
"fire" a nail!)

Moral of the story -
Stay AWAY from anyone using a Nail Gun!

(more than you wanted to know about Nail Guns, huh?)

/s/ Phred