June 6, 2024
Construction related 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.
See additional summaries online.
| Injury Type: Close call | |
| Core Activity: Road construction | |
| Location: Interior B.C. | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-May | ID Number: 2024160850016 |
| During blasting operations, a single rock (about 1 cubic foot in size) was ejected from the blast area. It struck and damaged high-voltage power lines on one side of a highway. Blast mats had been placed before the blasting began, and no workers or other persons were exposed to the ejected rock, as the blast hazard area, including the highway, had been closed to traffic, and the worksite had been secured. | |
| Injury Type: Fractured leg | |
| Core Activity: Road construction | |
| Location: Interior B.C. | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-May | ID Number: 2024194950008 |
| An excavator with slings was being used to move a steel culvert. Two slings were attached to the same hook. One sling came loose and the culvert fell to the ground, striking a worker. | |
| Injury Type: Close call | |
| Core Activity: Bridge, overpass, or viaduct construction or repair / Excavation operation | |
| Location: Lower Mainland | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-May | ID Number: 2024197960001 |
| A wall of concrete locking blocks, retaining pre-loaded soil above grade, collapsed unexpectedly during work hours. The wall was about 150 feet long and 12 feet high. No injuries were reported. | |
| Injury Type: Bruising and soreness | |
| Core Activity: Industrial, commercial, institutional, or highrise residential contracting or construction | |
| Location: Vancouver Island/Coastal B.C. | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-May | ID Number: 2024197990004 |
| At a four-storey residential construction site, a section of permanently installed wooden stairs (connecting the first and second levels) collapsed while two workers were on them. The workers fell 8–10 feet to the concrete landing. The stairs came to rest vertically between the wood-framed stairwell and concrete stairs below. | |
| Injury Type: Burns | |
| Core Activity: Electrical work / Sports and entertainment facility | |
| Location: Lower Mainland | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-May | ID Number: 2024182710037 |
| A worker had completed inspection of a 600 V electrical panel and was in the process of re-energizing the panel when an arc flash occurred. | |
| Injury Type: Multiple fractures (1 worker) | |
| Core Activity: Steel frame erection, repair, painting, or bridge painting or cleaning | |
| Location: Northern B.C. | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-May | ID Number: 2024157440006 |
| Workers were adjusting a sea can on the ground. As they lifted the sea can to place a skid underneath it, a heavy metal structure fell from the top of the sea can, striking a worker. | |
| Injury Type: Close call | |
| Core Activity: Excavation operation | |
| Location: Lower Mainland | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-May | ID Number: 2024203080013 |
| An excavator was digging a trench when its bucket severed a 2-inch gas line. The workplace and the surrounding area were evacuated. The utility owner repaired the line. No injuries were reported. | |
| Injury Type: Suspected fractures | |
| Core Activity: Low slope roofing | |
| Location: Lower Mainland | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-May | ID Number: 2024203080011 |
| A young worker was making a preliminary inspection of a flat roof when they inadvertently stepped on a plastic skylight that had become the same colour as the roof due to weather and age. The skylight broke and the worker fell about 24 feet to the concrete floor below. | |
| Injury Type: Burns, undetermined injuries | |
| Core Activity: Plumbing, heating, vent, residential air conditioning, or central vacuum system installation or repair | |
| Location: Lower Mainland | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-May | ID Number: 2024203080014 |
| A worker was connecting a pipe under a sink in a commercial kitchen when one of their arms contacted a live wire (61.9 amps) in an uncovered electrical panel. | |
| Injury Type: Close call | |
| Core Activity: Excavation operation | |
| Location: Interior B.C. | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-Apr | ID Number: 2024202990004 |
| The bucket of a skid-steer loader contacted a gas service line, causing a gas leak. Workers and an adjacent home were evacuated. | |
| Injury Type: Bruising | |
| Core Activity: Welding services or ornamental metal installation / Crane operation / House or other wood frame contracting, construction, or renovation | |
| Location: Lower Mainland | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-Apr | ID Number: 2024165370017 |
| During the installation of a structural metal beam in a house, a crane placed the beam on a wall. When the rigging was removed and the crane began to retract, the rigging caught on a bolt. The beam was pulled off the wall, dislodging a second beam, and both beams fell to the ground. A young worker was brushed by one beam as it fell. | |
| Injury Type: Burns | |
| Core Activity: Plumbing, heating, vent, residential air conditioning, or central vacuum system installation or repair / Orchard | |
| Location: Interior B.C. | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-Apr | ID Number: 2024163210006 |
| A worker was testing the propane washer and dryer units in a mobile laundry trailer. During testing, one of the units exploded. | |
| Injury Type: Fractured ankle | |
| Core Activity: Steep slope roofing | |
| Location: Vancouver Island/Coastal B.C. | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-Apr | ID Number: 2024162930002 |
| During work on a house, a worker was stepping onto an extension ladder when they fell about 20 feet to the lawn below. | |
| Injury Type: Injuries to head | |
| Core Activity: Excavation operation | |
| Location: Vancouver Island/Coastal B.C. | |
| Date of Incident: 2024-May | ID Number: 2024194460003 |
| An excavator was working alongside a highway. As the operator was closing the thumb on the bucket, a brick-sized rock wedged in the pinch-point flew toward the operator’s cab, broke through the windshield, and struck the operator. | |