Construction incident summaries are based on information obtained as soon as possible after the incidents: they are preliminary and subject to change. Details have been edited to protect workers’ privacy.
A mini-excavator swung and struck a retaining wall of concrete locking blocks. Both the wall and the face of the excavation collapsed. The neighbouring property was evacuated due to a significant portion of its foundation being exposed. No injuries were reported.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Excavation operation
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Nov
ID Number: 2024188240014
A worker was manually digging with a shovel to expose a damaged PVC stormwater drainpipe when the shovel contacted and damaged a 3/4-inch PVC natural gas service line. Several buildings in the area were evacuated. The utility owner attended the worksite and repaired the line.
Injury Type: Injury to finger
Core Activity: Tile work or terrazzo laying / Industrial, commercial, institutional, or highrise residential contracting or construction
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Oct
ID Number: 2024194960007
A worker was operating a vertical mortar mixer. When they tried to check the consistency of the grout through an unguarded outlet at the bottom of the mixer, the rotating paddle auger contacted their finger.
Injury Type: Injury to head (1 worker)
Core Activity: House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation work / Structural concrete forming
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Oct
ID Number: 2024182130016
Workers were stripping scaffold reshoring components when a 16-foot shore in a high-lift area on a lower level was dislodged and fell over, striking a worker.
Injury Type: Fractures
Core Activity: Siding, awning, or gutter installation, service, or repair
Location: Vancouver Island/Coastal B.C.
Date of Incident: 2024-Oct
ID Number: 2024162930012
A worker was installing a tarp on a steep cedar shake roof when they fell 9.5 feet to the ground, striking a guardrail on the way down.
Injury Type: Injuries to head and upper body
Core Activity: Concrete reinforcing
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Oct
ID Number: 2024211100005
A worker noticed a piece of rebar sticking out of a concrete pour and tried to move it. The rebar sprung out and struck them, and the worker fell backward.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Excavation operation
Location: Interior B.C.
Date of Incident: 2024-Oct
ID Number: 2024186460016
A worker was using a reciprocating saw to cut an exposed 6-inch PVC pipe for removal. The blade of the reciprocating saw cut into a 2-inch natural gas line concealed within the larger pipe. The utility owner attended and repaired the line. No injuries were reported.
As a hammerhead crane was offloading a steel lifting crate from a flat-deck truck, the lifting crate rolled out of the rigging, fell about 40 feet, and landed on the concrete roof of the building.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Plumbing, heating, vent, residential air conditioning, or central vacuum system installation or repair
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Oct
ID Number: 2024155070029
A young worker was conducting overhead plumbing activities from a scissor lift when the scissor lift toppled over onto its side. The worker was not injured.
Injury Type: Injury to hand (1 worker)
Core Activity: Steep slope roofing
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Oct
ID Number: 2024165370033
As a worker was handing a nail gun to another worker, a nail discharged, injuring the first worker.
Injury Type: Burns (1 worker)
Core Activity: Paving services or asphalt manufacture
Location: Interior B.C.
Date of Incident: 2024-Oct
ID Number: 2024136050021
As workers were identifying the location of a leaking burner propane line on a hot-in-place asphalt recycling system, a propane explosion and fire occurred.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Excavation operation / Road construction
Location: Vancouver Island/Coastal B.C.
Date of Incident: 2024-Oct
ID Number: 2024178160013
An excavator struck and ruptured a 3-inch natural gas distribution line. Emergency services and the utility owner attended the scene. The utility owner shut down the line and made repairs.
Injury Type: Fractures
Core Activity: Pile driving / Oil or gas production
Location: Northern B.C.
Date of Incident: 2024-Sep
ID Number: 2024183100020
As a young worker was guiding a piece of oilfield equipment onto the rear of a high-boy trailer, the worker fell off the trailer, landing on the packed roadway about 5 feet below.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Crane operation / Industrial, commercial, institutional, or highrise residential contracting or construction / Structural concrete forming
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Sep
ID Number: 2024181570008
A tower crane was hoisting a wall panel (30 by 15 feet, weighing about 16,000 pounds) when it experienced a malfunction with the hoist. The operator initially applied the emergency stop and later observed the load begin to descend slowly. The operator slewed the crane to lower the load onto the eighth floor of the building under construction. The employer evacuated the worksite, and police blocked the roadway and evacuated nearby buildings, until the panel had been safely lowered to the ground.
Injury Type: Burns
Core Activity: Plumbing, heating, vent, residential air conditioning, or central vacuum system installation or repair
Location: B.C.
Date of Incident: 2024-Sep
ID Number: 2024200680027
A worker was diagnosing a propane furnace, trying to figure out why it was not working, when an explosion occurred.
Injury Type: Minor injuries (non-workers)
Core Activity: Structural concrete forming
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Aug
ID Number: 2024181740011
During a concrete pour (at a multi-unit residential project), a connecting piece of the concrete pumper truck piping failed, causing concrete to spray out of the broken section. A few pedestrians were struck by concrete and sustained minor injuries. No workers were injured.
Injury Type: Close call
Core Activity: Mechanized tunnel boring construction
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Aug
ID Number: 2024181740009
While conducting a lift of shoring materials, a 22-ton carry deck crane tipped over, landing against a concrete parapet wall. The worker exited the crane uninjured.
Injury Type: Fractures, laceration
Core Activity: Painting or wallpapering
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Aug
ID Number: 2024211100003
A worker was on a ladder, painting, when they fell about 24 feet to grade.
Injury Type: Fractures
Core Activity: House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation work
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Aug
ID Number: 2024181740008
A young worker was on a job-built ladder on the deck of a metal-frame scaffold inside an elevator core. The worker was installing bracing between the core box forms when they slipped off the ladder and fell 6 feet to the deck, then through an opening in the deck to the floor below, totalling about 20 feet.
Injury Type: Fractures, injury to head
Core Activity: Painting or wallpapering
Location: Lower Mainland
Date of Incident: 2024-Jul
ID Number: 2024211100004
A worker was painting from a ladder when they fell 8 feet to grade.
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