From the early 1920s, the week of Oct. 8 has been observed in Canada and the United States as Fire Prevention Week. …this date was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire – an event that happened 150 years ago this month. But few people realize the full extent of the horror unleashed on the night of Oct. 8, 1871. The carnage rivalled that of 9/11 and affected a massive swath of the American Midwest, from the lumber town of Peshtigo, Wis., to Port Huron, Mich., and the shores of the St. Clair River on the Canadian shore. The 150-year-old event has come down in history as ‘The Night America Burned.’ …In all, the fires of Oct. 8, 1871, took more than 2,500 lives. Yet today, for those of us who actually observe the arrival of Fire Prevention Week, the tragedy of the night for which it is commemorated seldom comes to mind. …Smoke Alarms Save Lives.
Richmond, B.C. — WorkSafeBC released the bulletin, Top climbing a tower crane: Ensuring safe assembly and dismantling. It provides an overview of the potential hazard of top climbing a tower crane, and discusses how to reduce the risk. …It provides an overview of top climbing, discusses the hazards, employer responsibilities, safe work practices, and legal and regulatory requirements. The importance of tower crane safety was brought to the forefront in July 2021 when a tower crane collapsed while being dismantled at a construction site in Kelowna. As a result, five people were killed and another worker was injured. …The potential for tower cranes to be hazardous is well known. As part of WorkSafeBC’s high-risk strategies for 2021-2023, the 
…Vancouver is no Montreal or Toronto. Summertime temperatures are usually buffered by the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean, and the city rarely faces the vicious heat waves of other North American cities. That respite took a deadly turn at the end of June when a one-in-a-thousand-year slab of high pressure roasted British Columbia, shattering all-time temperature records and leading to at least 569 deaths. …death hit B.C.’s biggest cities hardest, where the amplifying effects of a concrete jungle create a notorious “urban heat island effect.” …A well-placed tree, however, can save lives. In neighbourhoods with dense tree cover, modelling suggests that a pedestrian standing directly under a tree canopy would experience temperature reductions upwards of 17 C. …But since the heat wave, local politicians have raised concerns that current greening projects could risk adding another dimension to the inequality already creating huge gaps between Vancouver’s rich and poor.
Grand Forks and Castlegar had the highest soot levels in B.C. last year, thanks largely to wildfire smoke, according to the B.C. Lung Association (BCLA) and B.C.’s environment ministry. Statistics compiled in the association’s latest State of the Air Report show that on average, Grand Forks’ skies held nearly 12.5 micrograms of fine particulate matter (FPM) per cubic metre (μg/m3) every day in 2020 — around 1.5 times the province’s annual objective of 8 μg/m3 per day. The air in Castlegar held a daily average of around 11 μg/m3 in the same period, or around 1.4 times the annual objective. Donna Haga, Senior Air Quality Meteorologist said these tiny specks are mostly put into the air by wildfires and wood-burning stoves as well as engine exhaust and certain types of industry. …Haga added, “There are pretty clear links between increased wildfire activity in the region and climate change.”
Wildfires that race through communities, incinerating ingredients that make up modern-day life, can leave behind a trail of toxic metal, says an expert. Michael Brauer, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s school of public health, said some of the hazardous materials found in ash and soil after a wildfire include asbestos, arsenic, lead and mercury. Most of the metals come from household items such as paint, treated wood, thermometers, cars and electronic goods. …Crews who mop up following a wildfire don’t just clear away the ash and rubble, but typically will test the soil and water for toxic metals, he said. A report on toxicity and pollutants found in ash and air samples after the fire that destroyed most of the village of Lytton is expected soon, said Pader Brach, Emergency Management BC’s executive director of regional operations. This will be the first time such a report will be written in B.C. following a wildfire.
Welcome to the Fall edition of Forest Safety News, covering news about safety topics in forestry. This edition includes:
Most of us were happy to ring in 2021 and leave 2020 in the rear-view mirror as a notable chapter in the history books. And while we still have some challenges ahead, the road map is becoming clearer to a post-pandemic world. The forest sectors’ history of resilience positioned it well to meet the challenges associated with COVID-19, supporting the BC government declaring forestry and silviculture practices as essential services early in the pandemic. These efforts were supported across the industry and involved a concerted effort by employers, workers, unions, contractors and industry associations working collectively with BCFSC to achieve a common goal. Working in partnership with industry and WorkSafeBC, BCFSC pivoted its efforts to support employers to adapt to the challenges of operating in a pandemic. …This annual report provides an overview of the progress made by industry along with this year’s initiatives aimed at achieving our goal of Ensuring Every Forestry Worker Goes Home Safe Everyday.
Resolute Forest Products is reporting 75 per cent of its employees have been fully vaccinated at 19 of its facilities in North America, including two in Northern Ontario. Workers at Resolute’s sawmills in Atikokan and Ignace are among those to achieve the benchmark, according to Remi G. Lalonde, Resolute’s president and CEO, who reported the figures in a Sept. 27 statement. “Our utmost concern since the beginning of the pandemic has been the health and safety of our employees, as well as the well-being of our operating communities,” Lalonde said. In April, 
Liam Crane, who was almost crushed by a forklift, believes the Department of Labour is too soft on employers. …Eight years ago, at the age of 19, he was working at Goodfellow Inc, a lumber treatment facility in Elmsdale, Nova Scotia, when he looked up from placing stickers on lumber to see a forklift driving right at him. It crashed into him, breaking two bones in his right arm. …His employer also did not report the accident to the Department of Labour and Advanced Education, according to documents. …Crane’s parents reported the injury… But the employer has never been fined, a result that baffles Crane. …He believes employers should face big consequences and tough enforcement, but CBC News has learned the department has actually moved in the opposite direction. …The Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Advanced Education has shifted toward promoting training and safety culture in recent years. 
In a new study researchers at Harvard University found evidence that exposure to elevated levels of fine particle pollution found in wildfire smoke may have led to thousands more cases of covid-19 and more deaths among those who tested positive for the coronavirus. In some counties in California and Washington state hit particularly hard by wildfires last year, the study, published in the journal Science Advances, concluded that nearly 20 percent of the covid-19 cases were linked to elevated levels of wildfire smoke. The researchers also found that an even higher percentage of deaths could be linked to wildfire smoke in certain counties. …Francesca Dominici, a professor of biostatistics at Harvard and one of the authors of the study said her team’s results underscored the importance of vaccinations but also the need for individuals to do as much as possible to avoid dangerous levels of wildfire smoke.
