Two lumber mill workers were injured Wednesday when about a dozen blades on a timber sizer came loose and flew off the machine, Cloverdale fire officials said.

The men, who weren't identified, were repairing the machine at the All Coast Forest Products mill in Asti at about 10:30 a.m., said Anthony Michalek, firefighter engineer with the Cloverdale Fire Protection District. The machine is used to cut logs down to smaller sizes.

The two men had put the machine back together and began running it as a test.

"The blades came off, and they went flying every which way," Michalek said. He said they suffered minor to moderate injuries.

The men put their arms up to protect themselves from the circular blades, each about a foot in diameter, Michalek said. They lacerated one man's forearm and the other man's hand.

Paramedics bandaged the men's wounds, and a Cloverdale ambulance crew took them to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Michalek said.

Greg Gomon, the company's general manager, said the injuries were "an unfortunate incident that happened during the regular course of business.

"It's an unfortunate situation, and the employees are OK," he said.

Source: Julie Johnson from The Press Democrat.