Interestingly he may have even glanced at the manual but misinterpreted it. One of the ways to start a saw is by holding the rear handle between the knees or upper legs with the left hand on the handlebar but that puts the pull starter on the wrong side of the saw for the right hand and it feels awkward (for a right handed person).
So with very limited forward thinking our highly prospective ambulance candidate has turned the saw around to place the pull starter on the right hand side. One does hope that the ramifications of this maneuver dawn on him before the saw actually starts.
